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The Splintering of the American Mind: Identity Politics, Inequality, and Community on Today’s College Campuses
A timely, provocative, necessary look at how identity politics has come to dominate college campuses and higher education in America at the expense of a more essential commitment to equality.
Thirty years after the culture wars, identity politics is now the norm on college campuses-and it hasn't been an unalloyed good for our education system or the country. Though the civil rights movement, feminism, and gay pride led to profoundly positive social changes, William Egginton argues that our culture's increasingly narrow focus on individual rights puts us in a dangerous place. The goal of our education system, and particularly the liberal arts, was originally to strengthen community; but the exclusive focus on individualism has led to a new kind of intolerance, degrades our civic discourse, and fatally distracts progressive politics from its commitment to equality.
Egginton argues that our colleges and universities have become exclusive, expensive clubs for the cultural and economic elite instead of a national, publicly funded project for the betterment of the country. Only a return to the goals of community, and the egalitarian values underlying a liberal arts education, can head off the further fracturing of the body politic and the splintering of the American mind.
With lively, on-the-ground reporting and trenchant analysis, The Splintering of the American Mind is a powerful book that is guaranteed to be controversial within academia and beyond. At this critical juncture, the book challenges higher education and every American to reengage with our history and its contexts, and to imagine our nation in new and more inclusive ways.
Thirty years after the culture wars, identity politics is now the norm on college campuses-and it hasn't been an unalloyed good for our education system or the country. Though the civil rights movement, feminism, and gay pride led to profoundly positive social changes, William Egginton argues that our culture's increasingly narrow focus on individual rights puts us in a dangerous place. The goal of our education system, and particularly the liberal arts, was originally to strengthen community; but the exclusive focus on individualism has led to a new kind of intolerance, degrades our civic discourse, and fatally distracts progressive politics from its commitment to equality.
Egginton argues that our colleges and universities have become exclusive, expensive clubs for the cultural and economic elite instead of a national, publicly funded project for the betterment of the country. Only a return to the goals of community, and the egalitarian values underlying a liberal arts education, can head off the further fracturing of the body politic and the splintering of the American mind.
With lively, on-the-ground reporting and trenchant analysis, The Splintering of the American Mind is a powerful book that is guaranteed to be controversial within academia and beyond. At this critical juncture, the book challenges higher education and every American to reengage with our history and its contexts, and to imagine our nation in new and more inclusive ways.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published August 28, 2018
About the author
William Egginton
24 books83 followersWilliam Egginton is a literary critic and philosopher. He has written extensively on a broad range of subjects, including theatricality, fictionality, literary criticism, psychoanalysis and ethics, religious moderation, and theories of mediation. William Egginton was born in Syracuse, New York in 1969. He received his PhD in Comparative Literature from Stanford University in 1999. His doctoral thesis, "Theatricality and Presence: a Phenomenology of Space and Spectacle in Early Modern France and Spain," was written under the direction of Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht. He currently resides with his wife, Bernadette Wegenstein, and their three children, in Baltimore, Maryland. William Egginton is the Decker Professor in the Humanities and Director of the Alexander Grass Humanities Institute at the Johns Hopkins University, where he teaches on Spanish and Latin American literature, literary theory, and the relation between literature and philosophy.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 7, 2018
It's a difficult read, and not just because of the statistics and data throughout. It's form is clear and demonstrative for the effects of much more elective grids of subject matters for college degrees. And information concerning professors and administration's current practices for "good" students. That was 5 star.
This ripping of the civil sense of identity and community is detailed well in those two chapters. It's real in after effects. My youngest son became a very common example. And the college populace at large is increasingly and has for at least a decade borrowed $$ excessively to enter the "separate" world of the college educated. Jobs to pay those debts? Nearly all have those stories but William Egginton gives you further real life and cultural fall outs to the long-term results.
"Instead of leveling the playing field, education seems to be making it more uneven."
Identity politics taught has results that rip the civic and also civil mannered discourse. Many, many reasons of psychological, economic and cultural measures are detailed. More and more increasing gaps "between" because of rural to urban and poverty rates regionally re huge urban centers to "other" places becoming vastly more distant and problematic in movement for those who are covered in debt. Other economics are detailed in the chapter on this true "inequality".
"It is this unevenness more than any other factor that is directly contributing to the patent failure of democratic dialogue in the United States today." That's a direct quote from the book.
30 years of stagnation and death of the American Dream in wide rural and sectional areas have contributed to alienation. Alienation from splintering that is virtually unrecognized by the "most educated" in school years themselves for any other but their own "correct think".
The saddest factor of all in this, is the lack of real factual information that is taught beyond the identity of past baggage of groups as core in myriads of college campuses. (College History Majors not having to take any American History as a required group sequence, for example.) And the demonstrated evidence is certainly there, that it has become (university) not a place in which you learn "how to think" but a place in which you learn "correct think" or in other words "what to think" as a whole piece.
Being taught "what to think", IMHO, is the antithesis of education, in itself, to me.
I've seen the splintering occur in a university environment, myself.
This ripping of the civil sense of identity and community is detailed well in those two chapters. It's real in after effects. My youngest son became a very common example. And the college populace at large is increasingly and has for at least a decade borrowed $$ excessively to enter the "separate" world of the college educated. Jobs to pay those debts? Nearly all have those stories but William Egginton gives you further real life and cultural fall outs to the long-term results.
"Instead of leveling the playing field, education seems to be making it more uneven."
Identity politics taught has results that rip the civic and also civil mannered discourse. Many, many reasons of psychological, economic and cultural measures are detailed. More and more increasing gaps "between" because of rural to urban and poverty rates regionally re huge urban centers to "other" places becoming vastly more distant and problematic in movement for those who are covered in debt. Other economics are detailed in the chapter on this true "inequality".
"It is this unevenness more than any other factor that is directly contributing to the patent failure of democratic dialogue in the United States today." That's a direct quote from the book.
30 years of stagnation and death of the American Dream in wide rural and sectional areas have contributed to alienation. Alienation from splintering that is virtually unrecognized by the "most educated" in school years themselves for any other but their own "correct think".
The saddest factor of all in this, is the lack of real factual information that is taught beyond the identity of past baggage of groups as core in myriads of college campuses. (College History Majors not having to take any American History as a required group sequence, for example.) And the demonstrated evidence is certainly there, that it has become (university) not a place in which you learn "how to think" but a place in which you learn "correct think" or in other words "what to think" as a whole piece.
Being taught "what to think", IMHO, is the antithesis of education, in itself, to me.
I've seen the splintering occur in a university environment, myself.
October 28, 2018
3.5
The Splintering of the American Mind: Identity Politics, Inequality, and Community on Today's College Campuses by William Egginton concentrates on how higher education contributes to divisiveness or the free exchange of ideas in America. The author considers identity, inequality, and community and how these values have changed in American society over my lifetime.
Egginton argues that identity politics has segregated society and that a sense of community and reasoned conversation must be rediscovered if the American experiment in Democracy is to survive.
His argument calls for a compromise or synthesis between a society dominated by an elite few and the tribal mentality of today. For instance, the traditional 'canon' was dominated by 'dead white men' when I was growing up. There were few women in my textbooks or list of required reading. I felt it immensely. As I reached young adulthood, minorities and women were fighting for representation and power. By the time my son was in college, his English courses included World Literature and books by women instead of the 'classics' I had grown up with.
He promotes a liberal arts education as pivotal to the education of good citizens, in terms of learning to dialogue and reason and communicate. Yet with college education so competitive and expensive, few parents or students can justify the cost of a liberal education. It's all about money, today, preparing for "economic self-improvement" as Egginton puts it. I saw that even back in the 1970s when I completed my education.
"Listening to each other isn't just some surface fix, it's fundamental to the very idea of liberty that the United States claims to embody." William Egginton, The Splintering of the American Mind
The importance of establishing a nationwide sense of community is of tantamount importance. And Egginton believes that begins on the campuses of our colleges and universities. Emphasized is teaching for empathy and dialogue and communication, finding the universal experiences in literature, learning to tolerate differences and supporting freedom of expression, creating an educated citizenry able to employ critical thinking and dialogue. A section of Media Literacy caught my attention as something I had used in my volunteer teaching with high school students. And of course, the importance of a groundwork upon which we can all agree.
I was inspired by his hopefulness.
"Yes, American history is a history of slavery, oppression, and extermination. But it is also a history of redemption, coming to terms with our nation's sins, and of overcoming them on the way to a better future, on the way to, in Abraham Lincoln's words from the blood-soaked battlefield at Gettysburg four score and seven years later, "a new birth of freedom."
"The point is that our history, as full as it is of examples of depravity and corruption, oppression and discrimination, is equally full of stories of altruism and redemption, of the triumph of community over selfishness. These are the stories we need now."
I was not comfortable with all of his interpretations and arguments. I appreciated his consideration of inequality and the call for reestablishing a common ground based on conversation and empathy. My frustration is that the policies presented in these books are not easily or quickly accomplished. These books were challenging reads and I am glad I read them. I am left with the need for something more to hold on to, something concrete that offers me real hope and surety.
I won an ARC on LibraryThing.
The Splintering of the American Mind: Identity Politics, Inequality, and Community on Today's College Campuses by William Egginton concentrates on how higher education contributes to divisiveness or the free exchange of ideas in America. The author considers identity, inequality, and community and how these values have changed in American society over my lifetime.
Egginton argues that identity politics has segregated society and that a sense of community and reasoned conversation must be rediscovered if the American experiment in Democracy is to survive.
His argument calls for a compromise or synthesis between a society dominated by an elite few and the tribal mentality of today. For instance, the traditional 'canon' was dominated by 'dead white men' when I was growing up. There were few women in my textbooks or list of required reading. I felt it immensely. As I reached young adulthood, minorities and women were fighting for representation and power. By the time my son was in college, his English courses included World Literature and books by women instead of the 'classics' I had grown up with.
He promotes a liberal arts education as pivotal to the education of good citizens, in terms of learning to dialogue and reason and communicate. Yet with college education so competitive and expensive, few parents or students can justify the cost of a liberal education. It's all about money, today, preparing for "economic self-improvement" as Egginton puts it. I saw that even back in the 1970s when I completed my education.
"Listening to each other isn't just some surface fix, it's fundamental to the very idea of liberty that the United States claims to embody." William Egginton, The Splintering of the American Mind
The importance of establishing a nationwide sense of community is of tantamount importance. And Egginton believes that begins on the campuses of our colleges and universities. Emphasized is teaching for empathy and dialogue and communication, finding the universal experiences in literature, learning to tolerate differences and supporting freedom of expression, creating an educated citizenry able to employ critical thinking and dialogue. A section of Media Literacy caught my attention as something I had used in my volunteer teaching with high school students. And of course, the importance of a groundwork upon which we can all agree.
I was inspired by his hopefulness.
"Yes, American history is a history of slavery, oppression, and extermination. But it is also a history of redemption, coming to terms with our nation's sins, and of overcoming them on the way to a better future, on the way to, in Abraham Lincoln's words from the blood-soaked battlefield at Gettysburg four score and seven years later, "a new birth of freedom."
"The point is that our history, as full as it is of examples of depravity and corruption, oppression and discrimination, is equally full of stories of altruism and redemption, of the triumph of community over selfishness. These are the stories we need now."
I was not comfortable with all of his interpretations and arguments. I appreciated his consideration of inequality and the call for reestablishing a common ground based on conversation and empathy. My frustration is that the policies presented in these books are not easily or quickly accomplished. These books were challenging reads and I am glad I read them. I am left with the need for something more to hold on to, something concrete that offers me real hope and surety.
I won an ARC on LibraryThing.
December 2, 2018
3.5, rounded up for reasonableness
A calmly and reasonably argued set of positions already covered in books spanning White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion, etc., but from a social justice - positive perspective.
There was a number of cited statistics, statements, or interpretations that I found, let's be trendy, problematic. The book should have shed some of its critical spotlight on its own premise and (trendy again) unpack the state of current education and activism methods, some of their underlying principles, and those less-than-positive fallouts of the two. If it tried, it would have been a much more rounded read.
A calmly and reasonably argued set of positions already covered in books spanning White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion, etc., but from a social justice - positive perspective.
There was a number of cited statistics, statements, or interpretations that I found, let's be trendy, problematic. The book should have shed some of its critical spotlight on its own premise and (trendy again) unpack the state of current education and activism methods, some of their underlying principles, and those less-than-positive fallouts of the two. If it tried, it would have been a much more rounded read.
June 29, 2018
I can understand the arguments put forth in the book and agree with them to a point. I was a history major in college- American mostly, but also studied Middle East, Russian, and Japan, among others. Most history majors I know did the same- picked on area of study, but also checked out others. When My daughters generation got to college, it started to change in ways that made sense to me. Some foreign students objected to being required to take history classes that didn't apply to themselves. Why should they be forced to take some class if Their specific history wasn't being taught? The college exempted them. I guess the mid to late 90's were the beginning of students determining the curriculum taught in college, By, maybe ten years ago, students determined what professors could teach in any given class- spoiler alerts for the sensitive so they wouldn't be traumatized by course content( really?? in college??) And who visited or lectured as a guest speaker at their college (boo and drown out the objectionable.) I'm glad I'm no longer in college see little point in gong back when I retire if that's what colleges have become. Maybe colleges should just shut their doors and NO BODY goes anymore. It's become closed minded and ugly.
Great read and brought up lots of points I hadn't given thought to. Enlighted and educated minds will want to read it and weep.
Kudos Egginton! Great book!
I received a Kindle Arc on exchange for a fair review from Netgalley.
Great read and brought up lots of points I hadn't given thought to. Enlighted and educated minds will want to read it and weep.
Kudos Egginton! Great book!
I received a Kindle Arc on exchange for a fair review from Netgalley.
October 12, 2018
Loved reading this well written book and agree with the author's assertion that our country is in great danger because of the divisions that exist. Everyday more people are pointing this out and warning us of the danger, however recent political events illustrate that the divides are deepening, and that we as a society are as splintered as at any time in our history. We desperately need leadership that can help bring people together and rekindle that sense of community that we have lost and that is so necessary for a nation to thrive.
October 24, 2018
A timely, provocative, and eloquent defense of higher education’s contributions to the public good.
October 11, 2018
The Splintering of the American Mind: Identity Politics, Inequality, and ... by William Egginton*
This book is divided into three parts: Identity, Inequality and Community. In each section, the author, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, analyzes the reasons for the deterioration of education in our schools and offers some suggestions for improving it. Although he sways decidedly left, as do most educators, he presents a bit more even-handed view of all the subjects he discusses, for most of the book, than many of the authors of the current day. Today, a tremendous divide exists between all groups of people regarding their views on what to expect from government, institutions and each other. Acceptable speech, everywhere, is defined and appropriate apologies for misstatements are suggested. Citizens live in bubbles which often exclude those less fortunate, depressing their opportunities in education, safe neighborhoods and the work place. In our attempt to satisfy all, we are perhaps, only satisfying the few, to the detriment of the many.
It is obvious that Egginton is also trying to explain why we are so divided today and how the electorate put a man like Donald Trump in power since he occasionally highlights a theme that detracts from his accomplishments and points out his failures. I felt that he allowed his bias to come through by presenting theories exhorted by J. D. Vance and others, stating that those who voted for Trump felt disenfranchised because they believed their needs were not being addressed, while those of others were being addressed. He further states that those who did not vote for Obama were not only racially motivated, but they were also angry that they could not be him, speak like him, dress like him, or achieve like Obama! I believe, from his analysis and comments, which sometimes blamed the right for the sins of the left, using progressives like Paul Krugman as sources, promoting the ideas of Obama while mocking those of Trump, wishing to provide education for all regardless of immigration status, overtly leaving out mention of who pays for all of the opportunities he thinks should be provided, that he is decidedly in favor of a more liberal leader.** However, his presentation of facts is both learned and diverse, giving the readers a view of many sides of the issues, thus allowing them to think critically about what he is presenting and enabling them to draw their own conclusions, which as he points out is a skill absent in teaching today. Many topics are often prevented from being discussed critically, either by the specialization of courses, the preference of the professor or the wishes of the students who often dictate the subject matter that is allowed to be covered and who march against those subjects and people they object to and find upsetting.
As he attempts to explain how our universities have been degraded into communities of separate identities made up of students that demand their own space, refusing to share it with others who have different views, and educators who have become accustomed to separate departments of study as personal fiefdoms, he presents a broad set of opinions from many sources to back up his ideas about the lack of teaching which inspires critical thinking and a search for evidence.
Egginton cites a belief of T. S. Eliot, regarding the way we currently assess literature. This quote could just as easily be applied today to our fractured political system and its flaws.
According to Egginton: T. S. Eliot did not think that the “criterion in selecting authors was gender or the color of their skin”. He believed what should be considered was what made a great work great. He believed it was the ability to encourage “communities to embrace new identities”, to explore “differences with as many of his fellows as possible, in the common pursuit of true judgment.”
The author believes that too much emphasis has been placed on administration and reporting and not enough on actual education. Too much competition between professors destroys innovation and limits research and the sharing of new ideas. He refers to it as the “cone of silence”.
|Fear of committing microaggressions on campus which may create a backlash from which one often does not recover, prevents a dialogue from opening up which could encourage an understanding of the reasons for the misunderstandings and the offended feelings. It stifles the growth of students and the curriculum. Speakers with alternative ideas are boycotted or marches are held against them which forces the school to rescind the invitation to them. This, of course, further limits exposure to new ideas. At universities today, there is an effort by some to limit the freedom of speech.
Title 9 is a policy that protects individuals from sexual, racial, religious, etc., discrimination in any institution receiving federal funds. It has been altered or tailored in individual schools to create their own zero tolerance laws which have resulted in false accusations being believed without recourse for the accused. Shouldn’t all individuals be protected? From that policy, others have arisen which protect students from ideas they find stressful. Egginton appears to believe that idea is insanity.
As multiculturalism and Afro centrism invaded the curriculum, other subjects had to be omitted to make way for those in that genre, which Egginton believes was an appropriate course of action. However, those professors who disagreed were ridiculed and attacked and soon their objections disappeared. The formation of groups that did not merge together to discuss ideas, but rather formed exaggerated separate groups according to their race, financial ability, politics, and other beliefs, made the situation on college campuses deteriorate further.
The American philosopher Richard Rorty’s 1999 prediction of what would happen when the non suburban elite felt abandoned by the system has been realized. A non-traditional candidate, a “strongman” named Donald Trump has been elected.*** This displeased half the electorate!
*Like many of the authors of progressive books, he waited until the last 40-50 pages to express his true purpose, to slam President Trump and trash his efforts and his followers. He bemoans the effort to redistribute wealth upward to those who provide the jobs in favor of redistributing it downward in favor of socialism. He seems to be attempting to delegitimize the Trump Presidency in order to support the Progressive agenda of the Clintons, the Obamas and all those who, like him, are on the left. He was not as fair minided or honest in his presentation as I had originally thought or hoped. While he states that “….access to equal education is only part of the problem; what gets taught is equally crucial.”, in the end, he presents his liberal idea of what is crucial, who is right and what he believes will be the results depending on who is in charge.
When on the next to the last page, the author called the President a racist, he lost me. This book was not meant to enlighten, but to spread propaganda for the Progressive arm of the Democrats. He cites people like Van Jones and David Brooks, he points to the white supremacists but ignores antifa. Egginton makes the outrageous claim that Trumpism caters to racists who feel sorrow and rage. If that is the case, those on the left are catering to insanity and hypocrisy.
In the third section of his book Professor Egginton puts forth the premise that “A solid majority of Republicans and virtually all of those who continue as of this writing to make up Trump’s base, believe that whites are today the most discriminated-against group in America.”
This statement sounds racist and biased to me, which is especially egregious coming from someone who is attempting to present an unbiased book, supposedly based on facts and fairness. Personally, I know no one who voted for Trump who feels that way, not one single person, and I know many Trump voters. What they do feel is that the Democrats and their supporters used many illegal and unethical methods to attempt to defeat him, such as providing debate questions to Mrs. Clinton in advance, allowing her to get away with destroying possible evidence that might have proven how she colluded with others to defeat him and arranged for a fake salacious dossier to be prepared and presented without evidence. As more and more is revealed, it becomes obvious that the “moral” left has used immoral means to advance their cause. This alternate appraisal is completely absent from the book.
I won this book from Librarything.com, Early Reviewers, in exchange for a review.
This book is divided into three parts: Identity, Inequality and Community. In each section, the author, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, analyzes the reasons for the deterioration of education in our schools and offers some suggestions for improving it. Although he sways decidedly left, as do most educators, he presents a bit more even-handed view of all the subjects he discusses, for most of the book, than many of the authors of the current day. Today, a tremendous divide exists between all groups of people regarding their views on what to expect from government, institutions and each other. Acceptable speech, everywhere, is defined and appropriate apologies for misstatements are suggested. Citizens live in bubbles which often exclude those less fortunate, depressing their opportunities in education, safe neighborhoods and the work place. In our attempt to satisfy all, we are perhaps, only satisfying the few, to the detriment of the many.
It is obvious that Egginton is also trying to explain why we are so divided today and how the electorate put a man like Donald Trump in power since he occasionally highlights a theme that detracts from his accomplishments and points out his failures. I felt that he allowed his bias to come through by presenting theories exhorted by J. D. Vance and others, stating that those who voted for Trump felt disenfranchised because they believed their needs were not being addressed, while those of others were being addressed. He further states that those who did not vote for Obama were not only racially motivated, but they were also angry that they could not be him, speak like him, dress like him, or achieve like Obama! I believe, from his analysis and comments, which sometimes blamed the right for the sins of the left, using progressives like Paul Krugman as sources, promoting the ideas of Obama while mocking those of Trump, wishing to provide education for all regardless of immigration status, overtly leaving out mention of who pays for all of the opportunities he thinks should be provided, that he is decidedly in favor of a more liberal leader.** However, his presentation of facts is both learned and diverse, giving the readers a view of many sides of the issues, thus allowing them to think critically about what he is presenting and enabling them to draw their own conclusions, which as he points out is a skill absent in teaching today. Many topics are often prevented from being discussed critically, either by the specialization of courses, the preference of the professor or the wishes of the students who often dictate the subject matter that is allowed to be covered and who march against those subjects and people they object to and find upsetting.
As he attempts to explain how our universities have been degraded into communities of separate identities made up of students that demand their own space, refusing to share it with others who have different views, and educators who have become accustomed to separate departments of study as personal fiefdoms, he presents a broad set of opinions from many sources to back up his ideas about the lack of teaching which inspires critical thinking and a search for evidence.
Egginton cites a belief of T. S. Eliot, regarding the way we currently assess literature. This quote could just as easily be applied today to our fractured political system and its flaws.
According to Egginton: T. S. Eliot did not think that the “criterion in selecting authors was gender or the color of their skin”. He believed what should be considered was what made a great work great. He believed it was the ability to encourage “communities to embrace new identities”, to explore “differences with as many of his fellows as possible, in the common pursuit of true judgment.”
The author believes that too much emphasis has been placed on administration and reporting and not enough on actual education. Too much competition between professors destroys innovation and limits research and the sharing of new ideas. He refers to it as the “cone of silence”.
|Fear of committing microaggressions on campus which may create a backlash from which one often does not recover, prevents a dialogue from opening up which could encourage an understanding of the reasons for the misunderstandings and the offended feelings. It stifles the growth of students and the curriculum. Speakers with alternative ideas are boycotted or marches are held against them which forces the school to rescind the invitation to them. This, of course, further limits exposure to new ideas. At universities today, there is an effort by some to limit the freedom of speech.
Title 9 is a policy that protects individuals from sexual, racial, religious, etc., discrimination in any institution receiving federal funds. It has been altered or tailored in individual schools to create their own zero tolerance laws which have resulted in false accusations being believed without recourse for the accused. Shouldn’t all individuals be protected? From that policy, others have arisen which protect students from ideas they find stressful. Egginton appears to believe that idea is insanity.
As multiculturalism and Afro centrism invaded the curriculum, other subjects had to be omitted to make way for those in that genre, which Egginton believes was an appropriate course of action. However, those professors who disagreed were ridiculed and attacked and soon their objections disappeared. The formation of groups that did not merge together to discuss ideas, but rather formed exaggerated separate groups according to their race, financial ability, politics, and other beliefs, made the situation on college campuses deteriorate further.
The American philosopher Richard Rorty’s 1999 prediction of what would happen when the non suburban elite felt abandoned by the system has been realized. A non-traditional candidate, a “strongman” named Donald Trump has been elected.*** This displeased half the electorate!
*Like many of the authors of progressive books, he waited until the last 40-50 pages to express his true purpose, to slam President Trump and trash his efforts and his followers. He bemoans the effort to redistribute wealth upward to those who provide the jobs in favor of redistributing it downward in favor of socialism. He seems to be attempting to delegitimize the Trump Presidency in order to support the Progressive agenda of the Clintons, the Obamas and all those who, like him, are on the left. He was not as fair minided or honest in his presentation as I had originally thought or hoped. While he states that “….access to equal education is only part of the problem; what gets taught is equally crucial.”, in the end, he presents his liberal idea of what is crucial, who is right and what he believes will be the results depending on who is in charge.
When on the next to the last page, the author called the President a racist, he lost me. This book was not meant to enlighten, but to spread propaganda for the Progressive arm of the Democrats. He cites people like Van Jones and David Brooks, he points to the white supremacists but ignores antifa. Egginton makes the outrageous claim that Trumpism caters to racists who feel sorrow and rage. If that is the case, those on the left are catering to insanity and hypocrisy.
In the third section of his book Professor Egginton puts forth the premise that “A solid majority of Republicans and virtually all of those who continue as of this writing to make up Trump’s base, believe that whites are today the most discriminated-against group in America.”
This statement sounds racist and biased to me, which is especially egregious coming from someone who is attempting to present an unbiased book, supposedly based on facts and fairness. Personally, I know no one who voted for Trump who feels that way, not one single person, and I know many Trump voters. What they do feel is that the Democrats and their supporters used many illegal and unethical methods to attempt to defeat him, such as providing debate questions to Mrs. Clinton in advance, allowing her to get away with destroying possible evidence that might have proven how she colluded with others to defeat him and arranged for a fake salacious dossier to be prepared and presented without evidence. As more and more is revealed, it becomes obvious that the “moral” left has used immoral means to advance their cause. This alternate appraisal is completely absent from the book.
I won this book from Librarything.com, Early Reviewers, in exchange for a review.
October 6, 2018
This being the second of two books I've read recently dealing with the so-called "American Mind," I am starting to wonder if such a thing actually exists or really could anymore. The former book, "The Coddling of the American Mind," had some pointed critiques, controversial opinions, and an erudite examination of social psychology at its core (no surprise given Jonathan Haidt was one of the authors).
This volume from Johns Hopkins Humanities Professor William Egginton is a bit more measured, somewhat less critical, and more philosophical in its discussion. His book as you may surmise from the subtitle is divided into three large sections: Identity Politics, Inequality, and Community. Though focused primarily on college campuses, he delves into the dynamics of primary and middle-high school education especially as pertains to inequality and the various factors driving that unfortunate occurrence in several regions of the country.
The first section, Identity, is probably the least developed of the three sections but does offer some insight. The influence of Richard Rorty on much of his thought is very apparent (and appreciated) and he is most engaged with discussing the identity of academic communities from the faculty on up, most notably:
"The institutional pressures created by the modern university have led to a hyper-specialization that is inimical to the very idea of a liberal arts education...namely, a tenure system that incentivizes ever more minutely focused research; the organization of the university into departments that ultimately seek to protect their turf and maintain near total control over who is hired and promoted; and pressures from the government and university administrations to uniformly quantify the value of teaching and research as measurable outputs."
The discussion of the individual, racial/ethnic, community, socio-economic, and national identities within which we all operate is a discussion that most will be familiar with and many will outright reject the notion of thinking of some of those categories as identities at all. In dealing with this discussion, Egginton again notices the trend for modern education:
"In losing sight of the balance between individual identity and the larger community, while at the same time devolving into a product we purchase to better ourselves, education has ceased to be the means by which our community transforms a child into a citizen."
The section dealing with Inequality is the most dense and probative, tackling the difficult issue of addressing the underlying cause(s) of inequality of education, not merely the myriad symptoms of it. Discussions of charter schools, voucher programs, teacher evaluation, cost of daycare, competition between public schools, race, and income level are deftly handled and one will emerge from this section with a much more specific picture as to why many of these issues appear already ineradicable by the time the student is considering college/university. Again referencing Rorty:
"To goal of a liberal society, he believed, is to gently expand those circles, to enlarge our sense of community by creating a culture and ethos that supports identification and empathy with those beyond our most proximate neighbors. It seems to me that the emphasis in American culture since the 1970s has moved away from this liberal ideal. The idealization of the individual, his or her racial, ethnic, or gender identity, and his or her desires and rights as a consumer, has been strengthened by the current extremes or income inequality, by the way of a they-have-theirs-so-I-should-have-mine-too attitude."
The final section on community expresses a similar viewpoint to the aforementioned works of Rorty and Haidt, in that it wasn't as Allan Bloom suggested in his work of 1987, "The Closing of the American Mind," that the notion of being an American had been shutdown, rather, as Egginton points out, "The American mind wasn't closing, it was splintering into a thousand different individual selves, sorting itself into every more specialized explorations of identity and into gated communities that could only see value in what would give those selves a competitive edge."
His case is a strong one and made with a gentle touch, that Humanities and Liberal Arts education can be much more than what it is presently and can have an ameliorative effect on this splintering made all the worse by the ever deeper cloistering of viewpoints afforded by relentless cable news and standards-and-practice-free social media "news." While embracing the diversity of our nation and providing equal opportunities for education regardless of background, we should still remember the noble goal of not only educating an individual and developing their critical thought process, but of educating and raising citizens of the same larger community of being American without sacrificing that individuality which has been a defining American characteristic since this nation's inception. We indeed started with lofty ideals that were not matched with how we treated all members of this country, however, through better ideas, more voices, effective activism, and communal discussion developed by study of the Humanities and Civics, we can keep getting better at what it is we think we already have.
This volume from Johns Hopkins Humanities Professor William Egginton is a bit more measured, somewhat less critical, and more philosophical in its discussion. His book as you may surmise from the subtitle is divided into three large sections: Identity Politics, Inequality, and Community. Though focused primarily on college campuses, he delves into the dynamics of primary and middle-high school education especially as pertains to inequality and the various factors driving that unfortunate occurrence in several regions of the country.
The first section, Identity, is probably the least developed of the three sections but does offer some insight. The influence of Richard Rorty on much of his thought is very apparent (and appreciated) and he is most engaged with discussing the identity of academic communities from the faculty on up, most notably:
"The institutional pressures created by the modern university have led to a hyper-specialization that is inimical to the very idea of a liberal arts education...namely, a tenure system that incentivizes ever more minutely focused research; the organization of the university into departments that ultimately seek to protect their turf and maintain near total control over who is hired and promoted; and pressures from the government and university administrations to uniformly quantify the value of teaching and research as measurable outputs."
The discussion of the individual, racial/ethnic, community, socio-economic, and national identities within which we all operate is a discussion that most will be familiar with and many will outright reject the notion of thinking of some of those categories as identities at all. In dealing with this discussion, Egginton again notices the trend for modern education:
"In losing sight of the balance between individual identity and the larger community, while at the same time devolving into a product we purchase to better ourselves, education has ceased to be the means by which our community transforms a child into a citizen."
The section dealing with Inequality is the most dense and probative, tackling the difficult issue of addressing the underlying cause(s) of inequality of education, not merely the myriad symptoms of it. Discussions of charter schools, voucher programs, teacher evaluation, cost of daycare, competition between public schools, race, and income level are deftly handled and one will emerge from this section with a much more specific picture as to why many of these issues appear already ineradicable by the time the student is considering college/university. Again referencing Rorty:
"To goal of a liberal society, he believed, is to gently expand those circles, to enlarge our sense of community by creating a culture and ethos that supports identification and empathy with those beyond our most proximate neighbors. It seems to me that the emphasis in American culture since the 1970s has moved away from this liberal ideal. The idealization of the individual, his or her racial, ethnic, or gender identity, and his or her desires and rights as a consumer, has been strengthened by the current extremes or income inequality, by the way of a they-have-theirs-so-I-should-have-mine-too attitude."
The final section on community expresses a similar viewpoint to the aforementioned works of Rorty and Haidt, in that it wasn't as Allan Bloom suggested in his work of 1987, "The Closing of the American Mind," that the notion of being an American had been shutdown, rather, as Egginton points out, "The American mind wasn't closing, it was splintering into a thousand different individual selves, sorting itself into every more specialized explorations of identity and into gated communities that could only see value in what would give those selves a competitive edge."
His case is a strong one and made with a gentle touch, that Humanities and Liberal Arts education can be much more than what it is presently and can have an ameliorative effect on this splintering made all the worse by the ever deeper cloistering of viewpoints afforded by relentless cable news and standards-and-practice-free social media "news." While embracing the diversity of our nation and providing equal opportunities for education regardless of background, we should still remember the noble goal of not only educating an individual and developing their critical thought process, but of educating and raising citizens of the same larger community of being American without sacrificing that individuality which has been a defining American characteristic since this nation's inception. We indeed started with lofty ideals that were not matched with how we treated all members of this country, however, through better ideas, more voices, effective activism, and communal discussion developed by study of the Humanities and Civics, we can keep getting better at what it is we think we already have.
February 17, 2021
This is an important book for all those on either side of the many divides in our nation currently, particularly for those on opposite sides of the extreme political polarization we see. It is far-ranging, nuanced, well-reasoned. He unequivocally supports movements to address systemic racism and oppression, while decrying the loss of national community such "identity politics" has engendered. He blames higher education (his primary focus) for contributing to rather than helping to resolve the economic - and hence racial - disparities in our country. His call is not for an either/or, but a way to find again the commonality of community he sees as critical for a functioning democracy. He champions good liberal arts education as key to achieving this community, and calls higher education to task for largely abandoning the principles of such a liberal arts program. He acknowledges the problems with elitism that higher education has, in his mind, contributed significantly to if not created, while calling for such liberal arts education to begin even in K-12 (as, apparently, it is in some places in Europe). He at times displays a bit of ivory tower, elite institution perspective himself, but this largely does not detract from his overall message. I'm not ready to wholesale accept all of his points or reasoning, but there is a great deal of value to be found in pondering on his thoughts, for folks of all political persuasions.
October 4, 2018
For anyone interested - read, concerned - about the state of our nation, identity politics, the toxic and divisive nature of what passes for honest political and social debate, the narrowing of our schools so that what to think is more often taught than how to think, the loss of community which used to unite us in a dedication to common ideas and values (equality first and foremost) and the weakening of the glue that holds our society together even as it, laudably, becomes more diverse and accepting of groups that were isolated and shunned in the past; William Egginton’s latest book, “The Splintering of the American Mind” is a must read. He shows how the accelerating rise of economic (and attendant social and political) inequality is choking off the equality of opportunity which is fundamental to the preservation of a liberal democracy. His analyses are crisp and his solutions imaginative and far reaching. Individual anecdotes enliven the work. His prose is clear and to the point. Strongly recommend.
October 7, 2018
I really liked the first and third sections of this book, about universities, particularly humanities, and how they contribute to a healthy democracy, but the middle third, on education for children and teenagers before college, felt thinner and not as well researched. Class sizes have nothing to do with academic achievement? Teacher skill level is the most important factor in learning outcomes, not parental income and education for example? Charter schools generally do better at educating kids than traditional schools? The middle section might have been more convincing if a co-author had been brought in who was more of a specialist on these matters.
October 19, 2018
Excellent book with a valid point about how intellectuals have become too specialized and fragmented, too obsessed with their own career and reputation than with contributing to the collective knowledge of the world. And the hysteria provides ample fodder for the left as Democrats cower under Republican insults and bullying but push back against their own (the weak prey on the weak). Egginton reminds us to get back to the democratic tradition of free thought, speech, individual liberty balanced by the common good, and a society built on equity as opposed to zero-sum competition. My only complaint about the book was it was a bit repetitive like a lot of nonfiction.
October 26, 2018
A bit hard to hear but makes a strong appeal for establishing a common bond among our splintered groups. Particular focus on campus attitudes. Lots of good, current examples. Tries to be even-handed avoiding extremes of left and right, calling on both to listen to each other and find common ground. Makes a great case for the value of a true liberal (old sense) arts education, in contrast to our unwillingness to tolerate any opinions but our own. I found it helpful to hear perspectives left of my own, but for the most argued reasonably.
October 12, 2018
Virtually every scholar/teacher of humanities and social sciences will embrace Egginton's arguments. This book, however, needs to be read by those who question the usefulness of, indeed the power of the humanities to promote civil discourse and healthy communities.
November 27, 2018
Brilliant. Egginton's arguments are simultaneously erudite and accessible, and could apply as easily to the shortfalls of the mass media (my former world) as to college campuses. How the dismal trend line might be reversed is less clear, but the need for a new commitment to civic engagement is, as Egginton pungently points out again and again, beyond debate.
August 9, 2020
An insightful, incisive examination of the role higher educations plays in the development of independent thought. Brilliantly and clearly written.
March 15, 2021
Incredibly insightful. Definitely coming back to this book, as reference.
Did Not Finish
December 28, 2023Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
Extremely dense. Sentences that were half a paragraph long. Rambling. Jumping ahead and skipping around. Interesting subject, but horribly written.
Extremely dense. Sentences that were half a paragraph long. Rambling. Jumping ahead and skipping around. Interesting subject, but horribly written.
April 4, 2020
In The Splintering of the American Mind, William Egginton examines how identity politics have shaped the current state of American government, education, and culture. The author, a humanities professor at Johns Hopkins University, raises several valid points, particularly with regards to the current state of higher education. I enjoyed reading about Egginton's insights and, although I don't agree with all of his arguments, I find his writing to be very accessible and enlightening.
Full disclosure: I received an advance reading copy from the publishers and, therefore, my review is based on an uncorrected proof. The Splintering of the American Mind is currently available in bookstores.
Full disclosure: I received an advance reading copy from the publishers and, therefore, my review is based on an uncorrected proof. The Splintering of the American Mind is currently available in bookstores.
November 16, 2023
I just finished another book by this author, The Rigor of Angels, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I picked up this book expecting the same. I can’t remember the last time I couldn’t bring myself to at least slog through to the end of a book. Halfway through I skimmed to the end. A few good ideas, but too many anecdotal stories and repetitive iteration of the same idea. There has been a breakdown in American culture. Nothing new as to why. Go to school and get a liberal arts education. There. You’ve now pretty much read the book.
December 12, 2018
Egginton writes compassionately and rationally about education (specifically, higher education), defending the liberal arts and justifying the need for a diverse, open, and conversant college campus. He draws from experiences, news stories, and some research to describe an erosion of trust and rational discourse on American campuses, and suggests ways to improve American education.
July 30, 2018
Is there a middle way when it comes to higher education, free speech, equity, and culture? William Egginton believes there is. In this thoughtful and intriguing book he outlines what that middle should have as a starting point. Advocating that colleges and universities should not facilitate "safe spaces", but in fact should be the exact opposite of a "safe space" - but still teaching lessons of compassion, engagement, equity, and dialogue. The mechanism Egginton recommends for this is a strong grounding in the liberal arts - and this book provides one of the more detailed and most convincing arguments for the value of liberal arts in our education systems. However, this argument will most likely fall on many deaf ears as there are large populations who believe this type of education should not be coming from educational (particularly government funded educational) institutions - but instead should happen in the home, the community, and the church. As a result of this, Egginton's book will be another hymnal for the choir, and will not cross the aisle. But, there can still be value in this - as many in higher ed are actively working against the liberal arts (either explicitly or implicitly) - getting the choir singing the same tune can be hugely beneficial. If you value education, civics, liberal arts, free speech, or contemporary culture this book is strongly recommended. And if you want to learn more about the value of liberal arts check out the Associate of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) LEAP program: https://www.aacu.org/leap
January 25, 2019
Not quite sure what the topic of this book was; maybe the state of education in the US, especially higher-ed? Or maybe more generally the state of the country itself? In any event I mostly liked the book, even though it kind of wandered around. Some parts were great in fact, but other parts I thought were weak. He quoted a lot of other writers I like, but I think he’s basically a bit to the left of where I am. I dunno. Also not sure about the stars, 3.5 I guess,but I’m rounding up because I found the book readable and blessedly short.
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