DesertFox
05-29-2006, 07:43 AM
Cathy Young
The Boston Globe
29 May 06
AT A TIME when conservatives dominate all three branches of government and hold an increasingly large share of the Fourth Estate, the academy remains the last liberal stronghold. You would think, then, that liberal intellectuals would offer some thoughtful and productive critiques of conservative policies. But instead, argues one leading liberal intellectual, the academic left is making itself irrelevant by embracing ideological extremism and trying to purge its ranks of those who are not politically correct.
This claim is made by Todd Gitlin, a professor of journalism and sociology at Columbia University , in a recent issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education. As an example of the self-destruction of the academic left, Gitlin cites two recent books, ``The Disappearing Liberal Intellectual" by Eric Lott and ``Wars of Position: The Cultural Politics of Left and Right" by Timothy Brennan, in both of which he himself is attacked as a heretic -- among other things, for supporting Israel's right to exist.
Gitlin cites some choice nuggets from the nutty professors. For instance, Brennan, who teaches comparative literature and English at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, asserts that while ``the crimes committed in the name of communism are real," they are ``certainly no match for the atrocities launched by liberal capitalism, which, far from being officially acknowledged, are completely disavowed or excused."
More (http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/05/29/the_collapse_of_reason/)
The Boston Globe
29 May 06
AT A TIME when conservatives dominate all three branches of government and hold an increasingly large share of the Fourth Estate, the academy remains the last liberal stronghold. You would think, then, that liberal intellectuals would offer some thoughtful and productive critiques of conservative policies. But instead, argues one leading liberal intellectual, the academic left is making itself irrelevant by embracing ideological extremism and trying to purge its ranks of those who are not politically correct.
This claim is made by Todd Gitlin, a professor of journalism and sociology at Columbia University , in a recent issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education. As an example of the self-destruction of the academic left, Gitlin cites two recent books, ``The Disappearing Liberal Intellectual" by Eric Lott and ``Wars of Position: The Cultural Politics of Left and Right" by Timothy Brennan, in both of which he himself is attacked as a heretic -- among other things, for supporting Israel's right to exist.
Gitlin cites some choice nuggets from the nutty professors. For instance, Brennan, who teaches comparative literature and English at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, asserts that while ``the crimes committed in the name of communism are real," they are ``certainly no match for the atrocities launched by liberal capitalism, which, far from being officially acknowledged, are completely disavowed or excused."
More (http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/05/29/the_collapse_of_reason/)