Politics by Other Means: Higher Education and Group Thinking

In this examination of the current volatile debate about liberal arts curricula, a professor of English and director of Yale's Whitney Humanities Center assails partisans of both right and left for fomenting ``politics by other means.'' A respect for tradition intertwines here with a concise history of the collision of ideologies that began in the Reagan years, resulting in a compelling call for the return to ``true education.'' In Bromwich's thesis, education teaches critical thinking, self-knowledge and tolerance for conflicting views, rather than adherence to a specific culture or support for intellectual conformity. He pays homage to such progenitors of these ideas as Mill, Hume and Burke, witheringly criticizing the present-day conservative stance and its spokesperson, George Will. But ``institutional radicals'' take their licks, too, in an instructive look at divagations in the study and teaching of literature. Well-written, deeply felt and far-reaching, Bromwich's examen addresses an issue of concern to many, with particular relevance for his peers and for students. (Oct.)