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Illiberal Education: The Politics of Race & Sex in Campus

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It's an embarrasing prospect to consider: Universities silencing discussion and dissention. But D'Souza mounts a compelling case: Example after example, case after case of faculty bullying students with opposing views, silencing discussion in class, using campus police to keep out students that ask questions. Where? At some of the top schools in the United States.

The issue is not about using this or that term -- students pretty much absorb and abide by the vocabulary of Political Correctness. The issue is not about speaking in a polite and civilised manner. The issue is not about raising your hand and waiting for your turn to speak. The issue is about what you think and believe: Apparently, when students take positions that are opposed to the political views and agendas of some of the faculty, it's discipline time!

Why are classrooms politicised? Why do professors bring their political agendas into the classroom? Of what value is an education system that holds that some views are above discussion, considertation, challange?

The importance of Illiberal Education is in the collection of cases it presents: Victims of intolerance and indoctrination in the classroom can realise that what's happening to them is not an isolated instance but a part of a larger trend. It will also help them respond more effectively.

It pains me to agree with anything this conservative Reagan lackey has to say, but the fact is that when it comes to academics, something has gone well-intentioned but wrong on American campuses. As Harold Bloom has put it, people don't teach literature anymore, they teach ideologies. I don't like D'Souza's politics, but he does a good job here of skewering the opposite extreme which seems to have gotten the upper hand in turning colleges into travesties.

D'Souza makes a strong case for the proposition that the modern American university, in the name of diversity and multiculturalism, has stifled debate and intimidated everyone into accepting new canons. These canons are race and gender based propositions that one must accept or risk being ostracized as sexist or racist. D'Souza argues that Western thought is self criticising (ie Marxism is a criticism of Western borgois culture) and that teaching method of the typical liberal curriculae was disputation, not indoctrination. The recent gender and ethnic studies programs, however, are based on indoctgrination. You do not dare to debate the ideas espoused in these courses. D'Souza also points out serious inequities in affirmative action programs such as Asian students being discriminated against at Berkley since their achievement was so high, they had a disproportionately large number of applicants qualified for admission. Therefore, white applicants and certainly minority applicants were favored over the Asians. Some claim the author is a right wing idealogue but, in fact, he makes a sound, well reasoned argument that many political liberals, who favor the traditional liberal education, could well embrace.

Though some of D'souza info is dated like some of his info on PennState (I go there now) he does mention problems about how now colleges and universities are not moving away from traditional academic material and heading towards more contemporary notions of education. It seems a large number of colleges in the country do not require things like Western literature or Western History even though we are a Western Nation and that Western ideas have influenced things like democrarcy and egalitarianism though I admit it took generations for their ideas to be implemented.

A lot of things D'souza talks about are still going on today like a great deal of racial groups clustered toghether with full university support through like minority frats, social groups, dorms...Part of what college is about is about learning about people who are different from you and the best way to do that is through interacting with them.

Probably the best thing in Ill-Liberal education is the last few pages of the book where he talks about his three modes proposals such as non-racial affirmative action taking into account economic background, family situation and educational back ground, equality and the classics emphasizing classics that deal with equality and human differance (incorporate non-western books when necessary) and choice without separatism for university groups.

Illiberal Education by Dinesh D'Souza presents an interesting collection of case studies of the politics of Race and Sex on Campus. The main theme of the work is that the Western tradition of liberal education is being undermined by efforts to meet the demands for group representation in curriculum, student bodies and faculty appointments. He points out that, whereas the traditional notion of the university saw it as a forum for an open exchange of ideas, the current reality is a venue in which the ultimate goal is not truth arrived at through study and exchange, but dictated by faculty radicals in accord with their own political beliefs.

To support his thesis, D'Souza provides a series of cases studies of incidents at leading universities across the U.S. He begins with an report of the admissions policy at Berkeley which, at the time of his writing, admitted students competitively within racial groups, each of which is entitled to a percentage of the student body. The result of this is different standards for admission by members of various ethnic groups. He then proceeds to review the demands for multiculturalism, which leads to the abandonment of traditional classics to make room for works of women and contributions from non-western traditions. In doing this works whose value have been tested over decades or centuries are supplanted by clearly inferior works only because they represent contributions by members of underrepresented groups.. In faculty selection, standards have been established to ensure that certain groups are represented in various numbers in the academic departments. This creates both intellectual and practical problems. Whereas liberal education teaches students to search for universal standards of judgment which transcend particularities of race, gender and culture, illiberal education teaches a provincialism in which every group is encouraged to have its own provincial world view, which restricts the ability find commonality among all mankind. The practical problem is that the quotas often call for numbers of minority professors exceeding the pool of qualified contenders.

D'Souza concludes this book with three modest proposals. He proposes a program of Non-Racial Affirmative Action, which would permit the admission students who appear to possess academic potential not reflected in their academic records, rather than basing standards on group membership. The second suggestion is for Choice Without Separatism. Under this proposal, organizations open only to members of ethnic groups not would encouraged, but those promoting ideas, which may be predominately of interest to members of particular ethnic groups would be encourage, but on a non-exclusive basis. The third proposal is for a curriculum searching for Equality and Classics. Rather than dismissing classical works on the basis that they represent a limited world view, they should be studied for the principals of equality which many contain and which often played a role in their selection as classics.

The weakness of Illiberal Education is that it often seems to be a merely collection of anecdotes which leave the reader wondering whether they really represent the reality of contemporary higher education or whether they merely reflect the most extreme aberrations. for many, including prospective college parents such as myself, this is an interesting study of disturbing trends in higher education.

I was hesitant about purchasing this book because I thought it was outdated, but I bought it anyway because I liked the other books I have read by D'Souza. This book is not outdated at all. The incidents and issues described in this book are still prevalent today.

D'Souza has a keen grasp of the issues concerning race in America, and he gets to the core. Race is not an easy subject to discuss. We constantly hear about race in America, but, ironically, it is seldom honestly discussed. Most commentators on TV discuss the subject gingerly, staying well within the bounds of political correctness. Most books dealing with race issues are written by white liberals steeped in white-guilt or they are written by black activists steeped in grievances. D'Souza, however, is steeped in history and clear-minded thought, and his books are refreshing to read. He really gets to the heart of the matter; he tackles the subject with candor.

If you are looking for an intellectually honest discussion of race in America, then this book as well "The End of Racism" are excellent choices.

This book discusses a number of prevalent but questionable practices at most universities: (1) admissions policies (making the point that students admitted on the basis of preferential treatment are ill-equipped to compete in college courses and thus tend to confirm racial and ethnic stereotypes of inferiority rather than reverse them), (2) course content (American history, Western culture, etc. are now routinely condemned rather than praised as in the past), and (3) suspension of first and fourth amendment rights of freedom of speech and due process of law. To avoid predictable charges of misquoting, the author uses the perpetrator's own words, thus letting them hang themselves. For example, a pamphlet put out by the American Sociological Association says that "it is not open to debate whether a white student is racist..., he simply is." (p.8) And the law school faculty of SUNY Buffalo adopted a resolution that "our intellectual community shares values that go beyond a... commitment to open and unrestrained debate." (p. 9) As the book goes on to document case after case and quote source after source, it becomes clear that these examples are not mere isolated instances but are typical cases.
The bad news is that things have gotten worse since this book came out in 1991. Also, this book does not explain how such a counterproductive education system came to be. Other books provides pieces of the answer, but for a full account up to the present time, get The Rape of Alma Mater. And for a view of how all this affects women specifically, get Who Stole Feminism?

In Illiberal Education, D'Souza describes the American University campus around the period of the late 80's to the early 90's. The work is a bit out of date although most of it still holds true. The first third covers affirmative action in college admissions, and the problems it creates. A second section looks at what is taught, particularly in English and the humanities. The final portion tells about campus life and how the left has largely stiffled debate and learning in many areas. A few proposals are made at the end.

So much of what D'Souza says is clearly true that it amazes me anyone could attack this book as so many have. I expected at first to read the musings of a right-wing fanatic, but found the book to be, if anything, too soft on the left. The author is best on two aspects of the problem. He points out that academic rejection of traditional standards as racist and sexist ultimately doom all standards. If a traditional piece is meaningful only in the mind of the reader, than what learning is to be had by reading it! D'Souza also explains why rigorous anti-racist policies have not improved race relations. They do not better campus life for minorities but only anger whites, who feel themselves unjustly accused.

I felt the book's only weakness was in the first section, on affirmative action. As schools use a variety of factors in admission, high test scores cannot be a gaurentee for getting in. It then stands that, at the University at least, affirmative action cannot and should not be banned. The bans could always be evaded and might have a detrimental effect overall. Affirmative action programs based on class or income are also a bit trickier to implement than many realize.

In closing, I should say that the book's lessons are best applied to society in general. Fads may come and go in academia and do relatively little harm. The damage done when these ideas filter out into society at large may well be permanent

It is a shame that Dinesh D'Souza did not continue his investigations into political correctness in the University. Unfortunately, since this book was first published, nothing has changed. I read this while completing my Ph.D. It rang true then, and still does.

This was a great book, well written and argued. There is nothing at all right wing, or hateful about this book. This work points out the pitfalls of political correctness. It is unfortunately all too true. The arguments made show the weakness and downright racism of affirmative action. The far left can do nothing except try to put this book down as "right wing" or "hate speech". This book really shows that there is no logic to their argument.