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The Politics of Higher Education and American Academic Fiction 1950-1980

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The Politics of Higher Education and American Academic Fiction 1950-1980 The Politics of Higher Education and American Academic Fiction 1950-1980 Zlomislić, Jadranka Doctoral thesis / Disertacija 2012 Degree Grantor / Ustanova koja je dodijelila akademski / stručni stupanj: Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences / Sveučilište Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku, Filozofski fakultet Permanent link / Trajna poveznica: https://urn.nsk.hr/urn:nbn:hr:142:546799 Rights / Prava: In copyright Download date / Datum preuzimanja: 2021-10-03 Repository / Repozitorij: FFOS-repository - Repository of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Osijek JOSIP JURAJ STROSSMAYER UNIVERSITY OF OSIJEK FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES Jadranka Zlomislić THE POLITICS OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND AMERICAN ACADEMIC FICTION 1950–1980 DOCTORAL THESIS Osijek, 2012 SVEUČILIŠTE JOSIPA JURJA STROSSMAYERA U OSIJEKU FILOZOFSKI FAKULTET Jadranka Zlomislić ODRAZ AMERIČKOG AKADEMSKOG SVIJETA U AMERIČKOJ PROZI IZ AKADEMSKOG ŽIVOTA 1950–1980 DOKTORSKI RAD Osijek, 2012. JOSIP JURAJ STROSSMAYER UNIVERSITY OF OSIJEK FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES Jadranka Zlomislić THE POLITICS OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND AMERICAN ACADEMIC FICTION 1950–1980 DOCTORAL THESIS Adviser: Professor Myrl Jones, PhD Co-adviser: Professor Boris Berić, PhD Osijek, 2012 SVEUČILIŠTE JOSIPA JURJA STROSSMAYERA U OSIJEKU FILOZOFSKI FAKULTET Jadranka Zlomislić ODRAZ AMERIČKOG AKADEMSKOG SVIJETA U AMERIČKOJ PROZI IZ AKADEMSKOG ŽIVOTA 1950–1980 DOKTORSKI RAD Mentor: prof. dr. sc. Myrl Jones Komentor: doc. dr. sc. Boris Berić Osijek, 2012. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the assistance and encouragement of the kind people who have supported me during all these years. I would like to extend my sincerest thanks and appreciation to Prof. Myrl Jones for persevering with me as my advisor. His knowledge and guidance have helped me to find my voice and complete my dissertation. I owe my deepest gratitude to my second advisor Prof. Boris Berić, whose valuable advice, support and friendship I have the honor to acknowledge. I am deeply indebted and grateful to Prof. Jolanta Wawrzycka whose generous assistance, great kindness and encouragement have kept me on track to achieve a goal I have longed to reach. I would like to thank Prof. Moira Baker for her encouragement and insightful comments. My sincerest gratitude is extended to Information Resource Center Director Maca Bahlen and the American Embassy for their generous donation of books that made my research possible. I am grateful for the support and friendship of my colleagues at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, especially to Prof. Sanja Runtić for her detailed reading and compassion in assisting me during the course of this work. I offer my thanks and blessings to my family and friends for their support and encouragement. Above all I thank my parents for their unconditional love, guidance and support in this and all my endeavors. I dedicate this thesis to them. i SAŽETAK Iako je američki akademski roman dobro prihvaćen od kritičara i čitatelja, još uvijek je relativno nepoznat i neistražen u hrvatskim razmjerima. Hipoteza je ove studije da akademski romani kao književni artefakti svog vremena istodobno oblikuju i odražavaju splet diskursa visokog obrazovanja u kojima sudjeluju. Stoga je njezin glavni cilj locirati diskurs akademskih romana kroz neknjiževne diskurse njihova razdoblja kako bi se došlo do novih saznanja o društveno-povijesnom kontekstu njihova nastanka. Pri analizi je korišten književno-teorijski pristup novog historizma koji naglašava povijesnost tekstova kao i značaj povijesnog konteksta u kojemu su djela nastala. Premda je dosad pristup novog historizma uglavnom korišten samo za analizu djela iz starijih književnih razdoblja, ovaj rad želi ukazati na primjenjivost ove metode pri čitanju akademske proze, čime se otvaraju nove mogućnosti proučavanja suvremene književnosti. Propitujući odraz američkog društva i akademskog svijeta u američkoj prozi iz akademskog života, rad se usredotočuje na romane nastale od 1950. do 1980. The Groves of Academe (1952.) Mary McCarthy, Pictures from an Institution (1954.) Randala Jarrella, A Small Room (1961.) May Sarton, Stoner (1965.) Johna Williamsa, The Odd Woman (1974.) Gail Godwin i The War Between the Tates (1974.) Alison Lurie te potom razmatra kontinuitet žanra na prijelazu stoljeća. U svijetlu suvremenog trenda približavanja Hrvatske Zapadnim obrazovnim standardima, detaljniji uvid u američki obrazovni sustav, kao i promjene s kojima se suočava akademska zajednica, može pridonijeti boljem razumijevanju akademskih struktura i pospješiti započete tranzicijsko-integracijske procese. Prema tome, raspon mogućnosti koji nude djela ovog žanra nadilazi čisto teorijsko-književni diskurs, i predstavlja važan izvor iskustva i znanja te doprinos unutar- i međukulturalnoj znanstvenoj razmjeni. KLJUČNE RIJEČI: američka proza iz akademskog života, novi historizam, književni artefakti, satira, diskurs ii ABSTRACT Despite the fact that the American academic novel has been well received by critics and readers alike, it is still relatively unknown and unexplored within the Croatian context. This dissertation offers the hypothesis that the academic novels as literary artifacts of their time are a part of interplay of discourses in higher education, which they both shape and are shaped by. Its purpose was to locate the discourses of the academic novels within other contemporaneous nonliterary discursive practices, in order to recover the socio-historical context of their production. The analysis was done within the framework of new historical literary criticism with an emphasis on the historicity of the texts as well as the historical context in which the works were written. Although the theoretical approach of new historicism has been previously used mostly in the analyses of works of the earlier literary periods, this thesis posits the use of new historicism to analyze more recent literary works and thereby open up new possibilities of literary and historical analysis. The subject of investigation was the politics of higher education and American academic fiction as represented in Mary McCarthy’s The Groves of Academe (1952), Randal Jarrell’s Pictures from an Institution (1954), May Sarton’s A Small Room (1961), John Williams’ Stoner (1965), Gail Godwin’s The Odd Woman (1974) and Alison Lurie’s The War Between the Tates (1974). The study comprises the academic novels from the 1950’s to the 1980’s and traces the continuation of the genre through the turn of the century. In the light of recent trends in Central Europe of nearing western standards in education, detailed insight into the American educational system, as well as the problems faced by the American academic community, may contribute to a better understanding of academic structures as well as advance the implementation of the ongoing transitional and integration processes. Therefore, the range of possibilities offered by works of this genre surpasses the literary-theoretical discourse and represents a very valuable source of experience and knowledge, contributing to the domestic and foreign scholarly exchange. Keywords: American academic fiction, new historicism, cultural artifact, satire, discourse iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................... i SAŽETAK .................................................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................. iv INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 1. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GENRE OF AMERICAN ACADEMIC FICTION ...................................................................................................................... 4 2. NEW HISTORICISM IN THE STUDY OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMIC NOVEL ...................................................................................................................... 26 3. THE ACADEMIC NOVEL OF THE FIFTIES: THE POLITICS OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE COLD WAR DISCOURSE ............................................... 42 3.1. McCarthyism, Higher Education and Academic Freedom in The Groves of Academe .................................................................................................................. 61 3.2. Progressive Education under Fire in Pictures from an Institution ...................... 76 4. THE ACADEMIC NOVEL OF THE SIXTIES: EXCELLENCE AND POWER IN HIGHER EDUCATION ............................................................................................. 87 4.1. The Small Room: Teaching: A Vocation or Profession? ................................... 95 4.2. Stoner: Teaching and Academic Politics ......................................................... 111 5. THE ACADEMIC NOVEL OF THE SEVENTIES: GENDER, RACE AND HIGHER EDUCATION ........................................................................................... 130 5.1. Gender Roles and Power in The Odd Woman .................................................. 133 5.2. The Vietnam War Discourse and Higher Education in The War Between the Tates .............................................................................................................................
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