A recent article by William Deresiewicz exposes the farce that is contemporary academia. What is interesting about Deresiewicz’ piece is the way he demonstrates that the ideological rigor of the university and the careerist ambitions that dominate the minds of its professoriate are not two separate phenomena, but mutually reinforcing evils. The upshot, as his narrative of his own career powerfully captures, is that young people with a passion for books and learning – precisely the sort of people who ought to gravitate to an academic career – are fleeing from the futile charade of university life as quickly as they can. Deresiewicz’ article serves as another reminder to those of us in the world of classical education that the inevitable next stage in the growth of classical ed must unfold in the realm of higher education.
As a former academic, I wholeheartedly concur with the entire premise of this article. Through the meandering maze of bureaucracy and self-indulgent pontification, we’ve lost the essence of learning.
This text so well encapsulates my thoughts in academic “writing”. As a student of theology and religion I have had to plow though so many mindless and soulless papers written by academics that I really yearn for vividness of C.S Lewis and Churchill.
The use of Montaigne as an exemplar of how to use Ancient sources is excellent. His whole discussion of 'glosses' in "On Experience" also makes a similar point.
As a former academic, I wholeheartedly concur with the entire premise of this article. Through the meandering maze of bureaucracy and self-indulgent pontification, we’ve lost the essence of learning.
This text so well encapsulates my thoughts in academic “writing”. As a student of theology and religion I have had to plow though so many mindless and soulless papers written by academics that I really yearn for vividness of C.S Lewis and Churchill.
The use of Montaigne as an exemplar of how to use Ancient sources is excellent. His whole discussion of 'glosses' in "On Experience" also makes a similar point.
What is style but a form of borrowed wisdom? Of course, all wisdom is borrowed.