Tag Archives: Identity Politics

To Be, or Not to Be, a Victim? Reading Seamus Heaney’s The Cure at Troy … Twice!

Posted on by

COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > ONLINE

Developed with South African apartheid and Northern Ireland’s “Troubles” in mind, Seamus Heaney’s adaptation of Sophocles’ Philoctetes explores the all-too-human tendency towards self-pity as an obstacle to communal reconciliation. Using the strategy laid out in Mortimer Adler’s classic How to Read a Book, this course, we’ll read Heaney’s play once quickly to get an overview and then again more slowly to figure out the details. Along the way, we’ll pay careful attention to the dramatic, psychological, and philosophical features of a text that is frequently quoted by American politicians. Continue reading →

A Perfect Storm of Vitriol: A Review of Norman Finkelstein’s I’ll Burn that Bridge When I Get to It! (2023)

Posted on by

WRITINGS > FINISHED [→ ONLINE ARCHIVE MATERIAL]

Norman Finkelstein’s I’ll Burn that Bridge When I Get to It! Heretical Thoughts on Identity Politics, Cancel Culture, and Academic Freedom (2023) is an important book that ought to be read by anyone trying to figure out what the hell has happened to “progressive” America these past few years.
Continue reading →

A “Great Conversation” Model of University DEI: At the University of Chicago, for Example

Posted on by

WRITINGS > FINISHED [→ ONLINE ARCHIVE MATERIAL]

The “Great Conversation” model of the university presupposes an intellectual posture of skepticism and humility that is incompatible with claims of epistemic privilege, the notion that some individuals or groups have greater inherent access to truth. UChicago DEI initiatives should reflect this by incorporating perspectives that question all aspects of DEI. Not doing so results in a “Great Monologue” that impedes the quest for truth and diminishes the possibility of truth-based activism, as well as denigrates those holding currently unfashionable views. Continue reading →

21st-Century African-American Perspectives on Race

Posted on by

COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > ONLINE

Through close reading and discussion of a number of modern classics this course will seek to better understand two lines of African-American thinking about racism today. The more mainstream, “liberal” school of thought contends that America has always been — and is still today — a fundamentally racist nation. The less known, “conservative” school of thought contends not only that America has made great racial progress, but that the greatest obstacle to further progress is the “liberal” narrative itself. Readings includes works by Derrick Bell, Shelby Steele, Ta-Nehisi Coates, John McWhorter, Ibram Kendi, and Glenn Loury. Prior to the first class, please do the readings indicated on the syllabus and watch the 2020 documentary What Killed Michael Brown? … with as much “critical empathy” for each work as possible. Continue reading →