Beyond the Culture Wars: How Teaching the Conflicts Can Revitalize American Education

Is the academic warfare over multi-culturalism and political correctness really a sign of America's intellectual decline, as critics such as Allan Bllom and Dinesh D'Souza have suggested? Or is it in fact a welcome sign of vitality, an assertion of the desire for American cultural citizenship by women, blacks, and other groups previously excluded from the mainstream? In this response to these critics, Professor Gerald Graff argues that the conflicts over education today signal the intellectual vigour of American higher education. By teaching these differing conflicts, Graff argues that the anger and hostility over political correctness can be channelled into productive debate. Drawing on his experience and teacher, lecturer and administrator, he contends that conservative critics have over-reacted to what is actually a gradual process of change in the American curriculum.