Selling Out America . . .

I recently read (Academic Questions journal, Summer 2007, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 177 - 210) a fantastic article on the state of college education. The article in question was about Duke University (my master's degree, M.Div. & Th.M. Alma Mater . . .) and how the school is seeking to shift from an entirely 'leftist' post-modern university faculty to a more 'varied political spectrum' of beliefs and course offerings.

From the 1990's debacle with postmodernist literary critic Stanley Fish (who eventually had to leave Duke to take an administrative position at a state university in the Midwest . . ) to the smorgasbord approach of endless 'choice' among course offerings that lack any sort of conceptual core identity, the author, (Princeton Politics Professor) Russell Nieli, well articulates the problems with not only the elite educational institutions of the U.S.A., but also U.S. Higher Education in general.

Whereas the general population in the U.S. is more highly represented by registered Republicans, the university produces professor after professor (and grad students . . .) who are so leftist in thought that many border on Marxism!!!

Similarly, Duke, in seeking to make a name for itself, like the Lacrosse debacle, had been left with 'egg on its collective face' as the post-modern turn in scholarship has largely been refuted on the grounds of secular rationality alone.

From small liberal arts colleges (e.g. Bethel College, denominational school of the missionary church, Indiana) to large 'for-profit' national university systems (i.e. University of Phoenix and its subsidiaries), the focus on a 'core curriculum' for all majors is a commonplace in 2007 - 2008. From Critical Thinking courses as required for all undergraduates to a focus on secular reason as the basis of the university itself (e.g. St. Petersburg College where I currently teach Ethics), the return to good old-fashioned secular reason (complete with emphasizing fallacious thought!) is returning to America.

But, whereas the appeal to secular reason seems like an intrinsic good, sadly, as the Nieli article states (but never analyzes due to a different scope from the author), much of U.S. Higher Education remains conceptually incoherent!

One can simply sign up for classes (at Duke) and never have to grapple with areas of thought that make one feel the slightest bit uncomfortable. Just like one can go to the West Campus dining facilities and order a 'soup in a breadbowl' (Duke's speciality food, or at least it was in 1994 - 1997 when I served as a Resident Advisor and Area Coordinator at Duke), one can also sign up for whatever highly eclectic curricula that suits one's fancy.

University of Phoenix is the paramount 'marketer' of Higher Education, but as Nieli rightly argues so has Duke struggled to overcome the conceptual incoherence that such 'freedom of unlimited choice' produces.

Whereas at Davidson College (B.A., class of 1994) I was 'forced' (how authoritarian!) to take a freshman level composition course, two religion courses, and courses ranging from history to a concentration in the social sciences, at Duke, it is the 'individual' (not the community . . .) who reigns supreme. Similarly (something that is again outside of the scope of Nieli's research), whereas the Davidson College communal emphasis came complete with MORAL FORMATION in the form of a vigorously enforced Honor Code (automatic expulsion from the college for lying, stealing or cheating!) and a strong emphasis on community service, the 'Duke experience' is simply 'capitalism writ large' with an endless variety of 'choice' that ends up, in the end, producing no choice! One can take the easiest courses (great for the frat boy and sorority girl crowd at Duke who start drinking on Thursday nights . . .) OR simply remain comfortably isolated in whatever intellectual enclave that one chooses and thus can never be challenged to re-think one's perspective.

Again, Duke is not alone, but is simply an example of how U.S. Higher Education, in attempting to increase its 'market share' will end up pandering to whatever cultural or political perspective that will gain it acclaim.

So, there you have it. As a lifetime Duke fan (basketball, and EXCELLENCE in education), I therefore agree with Nieli that even the nation's elite universities have not escaped the Pandora's box of 'unlimited choice' that marks the 21st century capitalist era.

Blessings in Jesus Christ,
Rob J. King, Democrat and Christian Traditionalist
e-mail kuriosiesuschristos@abidinglifephoenix.com