What happens to an English professor who believes that English departments should require students to read great literature and hone their writing skills by writing papers about them encounters other professors who believe that departments should radicalize students by having them read pieces about social problems and rant about them? If you surmised that he was hounded out, you’d be correct.
Broken English Departments is a memoir by such a professor, writing under the name “Reynolds Cotter.” I review it in today’s Martin Center article.
After earning his Ph.D., he was hired into the English department of a major state university. Not long afterwards, the “woke” members of the department pushed for the revision of a key course, turning it into a platform for political indoctrination in a host of leftist obsessions. He protested, saying that students should read literature rather than ideological griping. That made him a target for nasty retribution. While he managed to delay for one year the implementation of the new course, his relentless enemies made life so miserable for him that he felt the need to leave.
Professor “Cotter” is not a conservative or libertarian — just a scholar who wanted to uphold standards and traditions in his discipline. He learned that the “woke” who now dominate in English are intent on using their courses to get students to hate America and advocate its transformation into a progressive utopia.
He suggests several moves that would help to repair the damage, such as eliminating the requirement that students have to take an introductory “English” course to graduate. They’re worse than useless, so let students avoid them.
Broken English Departments is an honest and impassioned book that deserves a wide reading.