or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
More Buying Choices
23 used & new from $12.96

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Cornell '69: Liberalism and the Crisis of the American University
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

Cornell '69: Liberalism and the Crisis of the American University (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Sunday, April 20, 1969, was perhaps the most infamous day in the history of Cornell University and a watershed day in American higher education..." (more)
Key Phrases: Barton Hall, Tom Jones, Day Hall (more...)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Price: $39.95 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Only 4 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want it delivered Wednesday, November 18? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
7 new from $22.99 15 used from $12.96 1 collectible from $27.98

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Experience And Education by John Dewey

Cornell '69: Liberalism and the Crisis of the American University + Experience And Education
  • This item: Cornell '69: Liberalism and the Crisis of the American University by Donald Alexander Downs

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details

  • Experience And Education by John Dewey

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America

Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America

by Paul Tough
4.7 out of 5 stars (31)  $10.17
Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism

Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism

by George A. Akerlof
3.6 out of 5 stars (54)  $16.47
Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The scenes recalled here of armed black students leaving a Cornell University building in 1969 speak loudly of the rule of law, radicalism, racism, power politics, intellectual honesty, and the relations between academia and society. For Downs (political science, Univ. of Wisconsin), the author of several books, including Nazis in Skokie (LJ 3/1/85), the context for the Cornell uprising was shaped by the history of liberalism in 20th-century American higher education as well as campus events and university policies. A Cornell undergraduate that infamous spring, Downs narrates the issues argued by the Afro-American Society, other student organizations, and factions among administrators and faculty. He clearly details the complex, rapidly unfolding events, which embodied contested notions of progressive education, academic freedom, racial justice, and identity politics and which made the Cornell uprising more significant than most American student revolts of the 1960s. Readable, at times fast-paced, and based solidly on interviews and primary sources, this is highly recommended for academic libraries.ACharles L. Lumpkins, Pennsylvania State Univ., State College
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Review

Thirty years have passed, it is true, but the whole ugly episode is worth recounting because it presaged so much of what was to come on campus: race-conscious admissions, identity politics, the regime of political correctness, the radicalization of the curriculum, the "tradition" of student protest. -- The Wall Street Journal, Daniel J. Silver

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 359 pages
  • Publisher: Cornell University Press (May 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0801436532
  • ISBN-13: 978-0801436536
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,189,694 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

More About the Author

Donald Alexander Downs
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Visit Amazon's Donald Alexander Downs Page

Inside This Book (learn more)

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

 

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating history on the birth of political correctness., June 1, 1999
The dust cover picture of armed students leaving Cornell's Straight Hall in April 1969 tells a story close to my heart in time and geography. Downs' wonderful study of student power shows the inevitable problems that emerged when well-intentioned university liberals surrendered their fundamental academic principles in the name of compassion. Downs illustrates the unintended consequences of affirmative action, from students who did not want so much to learn from the institution...they wanted to radically change the institution.

The students understood politics, public relations and the power of the "big lie". While they may not have been competent to lead Cornell through needed change, Downs makes it clear that neither was the Cornell administration ready or able to manage change.

Once the violent takeover began, what little control President Perkins had was lost. The subsequent finger-pointing and resignations were unavoidable. Yet questions remain: Was it institutional racism fostered by a priest or political correctness that set off the furor? Who burned the cross in front of the African-American residence hall? Did the administration have a hand in the fraternity "counterattack" on Straight? Was this a spontaneous act out of frustration by African-American students or an SDS plot to radically reform Cornell? After it was over, did Cornell learn any lessons?

I could not put it down. A must read for baby boomers, especially those intent on understanding events that formed the ideology of those in the White House today.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars I was there, September 10, 1999
By A Customer
I was a junior at Cornell in April, 1969, and only after having read this book did I really understand what events happened that weekend. I'm not sure I understand even now what the significance of those events has been, but this book has put my own history in perspective for me, along with Cornell's.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Cornell and the Spring of 1969 revisited, June 6, 2001
Cornell campus events in April 1969 ran beyond the power of university administrators to manage them. The world witnessed the decline of docile, gentle student behavior, managed by old white men in tweed coats. Students found new, forceful ways to express themselves, and opened an era of campus struggles.

Downs demonstrates that students know enough to know they don't want to learn some of the things that there teachers are teaching, yet they are also young and naive enough to stumble about agressively and sometimes irrationally for a solution. And the senior professors, save a few stalwarts, had no capacity to deal with this new breed of students.

Based on Cornell's desire to "do good", to promote social justice, to provide meaningful educational opportunities, and to add diversity (before there was such a common, abused term on American campuses), the Trustees approved a plan to enroll disenfranchised students from urban areas at their bucolic campus. Cornell was Ivy League, yes, but more rural than sophisticated, more agricultural than urbane. Cornell was to provide a strange environment for a noble experiment. Did it work? After the takeover of the administration building by armed students, most Americans never looked at university education the same way again.

Meticulous archival research of previously unsurfaced or unpublished records brings life and details to a college's uncomfortable history.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Black Student Radicals Were Primarily Motivated by Envy
Donald Alexander Downs may very well feel uncomfortable with the conclusion that I've reached after reading Cornell `69. Read more
Published on September 26, 2006 by David Thomson

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm Here Now (Class of '02)
The reason I came to Cornell was because not only was it prestigious, but also large enough to be truly diverse. It has always been political, but political in both directions. Read more
Published on October 5, 1999

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   




Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.