At last! The Hamilton Institute
Whatever happens at Dartmouth, we should be grateful for the controversy the debate stimulated. It is not often that arcane disputes about college governance spark heated commentary on the editorial pages of major newspapers and at prominent internet sites. The public instantly grasped that what happened at Dartmouth concerned more than the mechanics of how a board of trustees is to be elected. It concerned the character of liberal arts education at one of America’s premier colleges. If nothing else, the drama unfolding at Dartmouth reminds us how effectively the status quo can be exposed and challenged by a little outside initiative.
We expect that the inauguration of the Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization in Clinton, New York will prove to be a similarly tonic enterprise. Readers will recall our enthusiasm—followed quickly by disappointment —when a center named for Alexander Hamilton was first announced and then torpedoed by Hamilton College. The whole sorry episode was yet another example of college administrators capitulating to ideological pressure from a left-leaning, activist faculty. It was not a happy eventuality for Hamilton. Rocked by multiple scandals—from a plagiarizing president to the disaster of Ward Churchill—Hamilton became a national poster-child for academic fatuousness. Probably, we should not have been surprised that the Alexander Hamilton Institute never got off the ground at the college that bears the name of that illustrious Founding Father. After all, it was dedicated (as a press release announcing its opening put it) to programs “focused on American ideals and institutions.” In the academy these days, “American Studies” means “anti-American Studies,” and here was an initiative that (in the words of its original charter) “proceeds under the premise that the reasoned study of Western civilization, its distinctive achievements as well as its distinctive failures, will further the search for truth and provide the ethical basis necessary for civilized life.” What a provocation!
The good news is that, thanks to three dissident Hamilton professors who persevered to create the institute, Hamilton students will be able to enjoy the fruits of this salubrious educational enterprise, even if they have to leave campus for downtown Clinton to do it. Independent trustees at Dartmouth; a new institute operating cheek by jowl with the college that disowned it: these are glad tidings. Among other things, they suggest that academic life is susceptible to genuine renovation. It’s just that the ideas might well have to come from outside the twittering purlieus of established academic opinion.
This article originally appeared in
The New Criterion, Volume 26, October 2007, on page 3
http://newcriterion.com:81/archives/26/10/at-last-the-hamilton-institute/
and has been reproduced here with permission of the author.
hb
An important book review in the WSJ Hitting the Books Without Having a Clue by Robert Messinger
“Mr. Kronman’s chapter on political correctness is a calm indictment of what multiculturalism and a misguided idea of “diversity” have done to our universities’ humanities departments. “The more a classroom resembles a gathering of delegates speaking on behalf of the groups they represent,” he writes, “the less congenial a place it becomes in which to explore questions of a personally meaningful kind including, above all, the questions of what ultimately matters in life and why. In such a classroom, students encounter each other not as individuals but as spokespersons instead. They accept or reject their teachers as role models more on account of the group to which they belong and less because of their individual qualities of character and intellect. And the works they study are regarded more as statements of group membership than as creations of men and women with viewpoints uniquely their own.” Anyone who has perused the course catalog of a liberal-arts college — Wesleyan’s English department, for instance, offers “Chicina Lesbian Literature: Speaking in Tongues” and “Law, Race, and Literature: An Introduction to Critical Race Theory” — will recognize what Mr. Kronman is talking about.”
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Your college should be ashamed of itself. Thanks for enlightening us on the situation. Thanks also for the pocket constitutions. Your charter is inspiring. Good luck!
Whoopee!
Have a look at http://www.magdalenhsuli.com/
Not too scary! Look beyond the surface.
"Smashing the Ceiling" showcases Magdalen's ethereal yet awakening voice on songs such as "Mary Magdalene" and "Change the World." "Several people have asked why I chose to write a song about one of the most controversial figures in Biblical history. 'Mary Magdalene' is both an autobiographical song about my life as well as a blend of various biblical mythologies about Mary Magdalene. I think she is one of the most iconic, provocative, loved, hated, and mysterious women in history. Yet her story has been misinterpreted through the centuries, so I felt it was time to help redefine her story in a more positive light. 'Change the World' is a tour de force call for consciousness in the ways we see ourselves collectively and individually. "Throughout my life I have encountered many situations where in order to achieve my goals, I had to challenge and break through my own preconceived ideas, doubts, and fears to succeed. The song is a reminder that anytime we are able to have such a breakthrough, we create a ripple effect around us that can inspire."
Kind of like hcagr? Well, maybe not...
No offense to Ms.Hsu-Li, but that link sounds a little Starbucky. I prefer the Peggy Seegar audio track which terrified cows and other wildlife across upstate NY and PA.
She's not the Stones, but it's only a concert. Get a grip, folks!
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/10/ivory_tower_decay.html
Having had this name for well over 50 years I am well aware of the royal blood line, the mythic godly affections and the result of the unrequited love. I am also aware that to post the name Cassandra, as the author of a poorly written and grammatically incorrect support of a bizarre performance artist, to appear on the Hill, in a Hamilton alumni chat, the gives the impression that I, CHL, am the feeble writer.