Chris Hedges argues that the American version of Greco-Roman Judeo-Christianism has increasingly absorbed characteristics of European fascism—chief among them, the suppression of critical thought and the imposition of a singular, mythologized historical narrative. This deliberate manipulation of history, which cannot proceed without first marginalizing and silencing teachers, serves to construct a homogenized cultural identity tailored to authoritarian control. Of course, they hate Baldwin. He dismantles their colony. Thanks for your reflection.
I've been working on a manuscript having to do with the theology behind Classical Education for a while, on and off as I have other projects and also struggle to commit to something that I know will be a strain emotionally. I, too, see the education I received as a gift, but struggle to make sense of the beauty I found and also the ways that it perpetuates harm. The idea that we must have reverence for the texts we learn from is one that is baked into Classical Ed and one that I still struggle to understand. Reverence can be thought-terminating. Reverence is not an argument. Beginning with reverence is disallowing free education. Yet Annie Abrams has great points. We have to show that there is value in these texts apart from reverence, and that is a much more difficult argument to succeed in making.
Molly, THANK YOU for such a thoughtful response. And know that I would love to know more about your project. We seem to share some related wrestlings/struggles with this. And very much appreciate your thinking on reverence. The line of thinking you have on reverence is one that has enabled me to bring Shakespeare back into my own teaching practice. So, I'm grateful for you sharing that wisdom with more folks. Please do be in touch!
I really appreciate your reflections here, Teacher / Poet. Classical Education and the traditionalism it represents will no doubt be appropriated by MAGA and its intellectual guides at the Heritage Foundation. They will no doubt pervert it--as they have perverted the American political tradition. But the most advanced contributors to the traditions (plural) that make up American culture--of whatever religion, race, gender, or sexual preference--make culture out of culture. Let me offer just one example from my recent reading: Terence Hayes' AMERICAN SONNETS FOR MY PAST AND FUTURE ASSASSIN. The form of the sonnet is a major form of the European poetic tradition, exemplified by Shakespeare. Hayes takes up the form for his own remarkable enterprises, including his scathing indictment of Trump's white supremacy and misogyny. There is in education now, as in so much of our culture as a whole, a constant reduction of the most interesting topics to two positions, right and left, each of which is a caricature of itself. This reduction is a false disjunct. The traditions of the West have sometimes been sources of reaction and suppression; they have also been sources of exploration and liberation. You do a nuanced job of escaping that false disjunct. Having dwelt like you within progressive and conservative educational environments, I remain confident that the best that has been thought and said (Matthew Arnold's phrase, I think, from CULTURE AND ANARCHY) seldom falls into our reductive categories, the categories being exploited by those seeking power, not wisdom. You got your old teacher all worked up, Teacher / Poet. Thank you.
"But the most advanced contributors to the traditions (plural) that make up American culture--of whatever religion, race, gender, or sexual preference--make culture out of culture." Yes! And love that you're reading Terrance Hayes. That collection is powerful. And, in the context of this conversation, you might appreciate his new book-length study, Watch Your Language (2023) which considers a lineage of contemporary Black American poets. It's terrific. Appreciate you, Scott / Dr. Crider. (Sorry, couldn't resist the / ! You'll always be a teacher to me, too.)
Chris Hedges argues that the American version of Greco-Roman Judeo-Christianism has increasingly absorbed characteristics of European fascism—chief among them, the suppression of critical thought and the imposition of a singular, mythologized historical narrative. This deliberate manipulation of history, which cannot proceed without first marginalizing and silencing teachers, serves to construct a homogenized cultural identity tailored to authoritarian control. Of course, they hate Baldwin. He dismantles their colony. Thanks for your reflection.
I've been working on a manuscript having to do with the theology behind Classical Education for a while, on and off as I have other projects and also struggle to commit to something that I know will be a strain emotionally. I, too, see the education I received as a gift, but struggle to make sense of the beauty I found and also the ways that it perpetuates harm. The idea that we must have reverence for the texts we learn from is one that is baked into Classical Ed and one that I still struggle to understand. Reverence can be thought-terminating. Reverence is not an argument. Beginning with reverence is disallowing free education. Yet Annie Abrams has great points. We have to show that there is value in these texts apart from reverence, and that is a much more difficult argument to succeed in making.
Molly, THANK YOU for such a thoughtful response. And know that I would love to know more about your project. We seem to share some related wrestlings/struggles with this. And very much appreciate your thinking on reverence. The line of thinking you have on reverence is one that has enabled me to bring Shakespeare back into my own teaching practice. So, I'm grateful for you sharing that wisdom with more folks. Please do be in touch!
I really appreciate your reflections here, Teacher / Poet. Classical Education and the traditionalism it represents will no doubt be appropriated by MAGA and its intellectual guides at the Heritage Foundation. They will no doubt pervert it--as they have perverted the American political tradition. But the most advanced contributors to the traditions (plural) that make up American culture--of whatever religion, race, gender, or sexual preference--make culture out of culture. Let me offer just one example from my recent reading: Terence Hayes' AMERICAN SONNETS FOR MY PAST AND FUTURE ASSASSIN. The form of the sonnet is a major form of the European poetic tradition, exemplified by Shakespeare. Hayes takes up the form for his own remarkable enterprises, including his scathing indictment of Trump's white supremacy and misogyny. There is in education now, as in so much of our culture as a whole, a constant reduction of the most interesting topics to two positions, right and left, each of which is a caricature of itself. This reduction is a false disjunct. The traditions of the West have sometimes been sources of reaction and suppression; they have also been sources of exploration and liberation. You do a nuanced job of escaping that false disjunct. Having dwelt like you within progressive and conservative educational environments, I remain confident that the best that has been thought and said (Matthew Arnold's phrase, I think, from CULTURE AND ANARCHY) seldom falls into our reductive categories, the categories being exploited by those seeking power, not wisdom. You got your old teacher all worked up, Teacher / Poet. Thank you.
"But the most advanced contributors to the traditions (plural) that make up American culture--of whatever religion, race, gender, or sexual preference--make culture out of culture." Yes! And love that you're reading Terrance Hayes. That collection is powerful. And, in the context of this conversation, you might appreciate his new book-length study, Watch Your Language (2023) which considers a lineage of contemporary Black American poets. It's terrific. Appreciate you, Scott / Dr. Crider. (Sorry, couldn't resist the / ! You'll always be a teacher to me, too.)
Thank you for the book recommendation!