NCJ Number
139687
Journal
Social Justice Volume: 19 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1992) Pages: 122-135
Date Published
1991
Length
369 pages
Annotation
This analysis of current critiques of multiculturalism in education in the United States notes that these critiques of "political correctness" are occurring at a time when multicultural education has made minimal progress, academic radicalism exists only in the margins of university life, and "politically correct" thinking is in greater worldwide disarray than at any other time in this century.
Abstract
The supporters of the critics are well organized and include the National Association of Scholars, although they are not monolithic. In contrast, the defenders of multiculturalism are quite disorganized and at odds with each another. The issues are ethnic and multicultural content in curriculum and textbooks; the composition of faculty and student populations; and language and civility on the campus, including the regulation of hate speech. "Political correctness" refers to the characterization of efforts to foster multiculturalism as politicized, intolerant, and irrational. The critics are currently dominant and include Allan Bloom, Shelby Steele, Roger Kimball, Dinesh D'Souza, and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. Contrary to the views of these critics, progress in multiculturalism in higher education is limited and, in many cases, being quickly reversed. However, their vehemence can be explained by the neoconservative project against multiculturalism. The arguments appeal to an ideology of meritocracy and individualism, to a deep and revitalized racism, to heterosexism in its search for new scapegoats, and populist constructions of Anglo nationalism and patriotism. The criticisms appeal partly because they rest on actual experience and realities. Therefore, to make campuses truly multicultural will require major changes that encourage diversity as a contribution rather than a contest, promotes controversies, and seeks knowledge as inclusive and expansive. Notes and 59 references