Hooey in the Seminar

I apologize in advance for the fact that this column is not going to be a stylistic delight. And yet reality is not always pleasant, and a surgeon would no doubt prefer to gaze at a Rembrandt or listen to Palestrina than to cut around, hunting for a cancer. But, brace yourself, duty calls. To get the full gas-cloud of what is going on today in many of our universities, just plunge ahead with the following description, in gory detail, of a graduate seminar to be offered by one M. Miyoshi at the University of California, San Diego branch. The seminar is called “Literature and Social History: 1945-1955 and . . .” And, well, here goes:

“The course will study the ‘beginning’ of the Cold War and its representations by political leaders, media, and academia. Further, it will explore its pervasive consequences in various literary, ‘cultural,’ and political events of the world since. Obviously, this is an all-inclusive topic which, if handled generally, would be simply unmanageable. But the aim of the course is not so much a historical survey asitisan exercise in establishing relationships among politics, ideologies, and artistic productions.

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Jeffrey Hart

Jeffrey Hart is a contributor to National Review.

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I apologize in advance for the fact that this column is not going to be a stylistic delight. And yet reality is not always pleasant, and a surgeon would no doubt prefer to gaze at a Rembrandt or listen to Palestrina than to cut around, hunting for a cancer. But, brace yourself, duty calls. To get the full gas-cloud of what is going on today in many of our universities, just plunge ahead with the following description, in gory detail, of a graduate seminar to be offered by one M. Miyoshi at the University of California, San Diego branch. The seminar is called “Literature and Social History: 1945-1955 and . . .” And, well, here goes:

“The course will study the ‘beginning’ of the Cold War and its representations by political leaders, media, and academia. Further, it will explore its pervasive consequences in various literary, ‘cultural,’ and political events of the world since. Obviously, this is an all-inclusive topic which, if handled generally, would be simply unmanageable. But the aim of the course is not so much a historical survey asitisan exercise in establishing relationships among politics, ideologies, and artistic productions.