The Demise of What Has Been Called Great Literature

A columnist in the New York Times recently posted alarm at what is going on in academia. Among other changes, the classes and faculty which focus on traditional literature are in decline. The link author used the word apocalypse.

I would agree this is happening. The inside of academia is a complex place fraught with both idealism and economic reality and what takes place is neither easy to explain nor predictable.

One thing going on is called generically, critical thinking. Out of this comes the concept of humanism, issues are resolved through human argument and evidence. The link criticizes the approach of humanism as, "Humanism can only teach disciplinary procedures and habits of the mind...we model a style of engagement: we don't transmit value." Humanists also teach "approaches to knowledge rather than the thing itself."

The old approach to literature was a list of classics used by professors of past Ph.D. programs and by the professor before them. It came to be known as the literature of "dead white men" even though not all of it was written by dead white men. Women's studies, black studies, LGBTQ studies and others saw the traditional reading list as a way to justify power and influence of white men. They had sound evidence from the powerful role of white men in religion and most all other institutions.

As critical approaches to the traditional reading list developed other forces began to reinforce the change. Students began to avoid majoring in English. Fewer classes in English meant fewer professors to advocate for budgets in English. The same for History and disciplines related to the liberal arts. Disciplines even further removed saw erosion of enrollments. Sociology and economics which had some roots in the original reading list have been unsuccessful in competing against those which imply jobs, i.e. communication, management, etc. Just now, university enrollments across the board are falling.

While it would be reassuring to know where this is all headed we can't. We can only hope the more diverse set of people involved in determining the direction of teaching and knowledge the broader will be the ownership of what results.