Jacobin Magazine on The Great Books

As early as 2003, a student editorialist for the Harvard Crimson complained that it was possible to graduate from that august institution without reading Aristotle or William Shakespeare. True, students…

As early as 2003, a student editorialist for the Harvard Crimson complained that it was possible to graduate from that august institution without reading Aristotle or William Shakespeare. True, students bothered by this tend to be conservative little shits — but they are right to complain. More important than the decline of Harvard, however, is the need to address the structural barriers to great books for regular people, through free higher education, more equitable college preparation in K-12 schools, and a far less cutthroat economic system, in which survival is a human right and everyone has leisure time.  –Liza Featherstone

Exactly.

The 'little shits' comment is unfortunate, but you know who she's talking about: the Tucker Carlson and Ann Coulter wannabes who populate Young Republican chapters throughout our land.

And maybe there is some hope for young socialist intellectuals

BTW, I read Roosevelt Montas's Rescuing Socrates last month, and it's a refreshing defense of common sense about what a liberal arts education should be. 

 

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