CDZ Students Demand Removal of White Authors; Why is this not Condemned as Racist?

[Coyote]

The ability to write well or bad,y has nothing to do with skin color.

.

If you actually believed this statement you just made, you would be AGANST the racial quotas the authoritarian students are demanding, not for them.

If it's about "quotas" - no, I don't support that. But likewise - if it's protesting the inclusion of more authors of diverse backgrounds - what is wrong with that as long as there is quality - there are many authors who are excellent and worth exploring - the greater the diversity, the broader the spectrum of good literature that students are exposed to.

I wouldn't be so quick to classify the students as "authoritarian" simply for demanding greater inclusion of non white non male authors in the selections.

They are completely and totally wrong. Non white authors have no place in a course on western civilization. The students are woke ignoramuses.

They might be - but, again - who knows, they did not mention any specific authors, and certainly - female authors would have a place in a course on western civilization.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

The ability to write well or bad,y has nothing to do with skin color.

.

If you actually believed this statement you just made, you would be AGANST the racial quotas the authoritarian students are demanding, not for them.

If it's about "quotas" - no, I don't support that. But likewise - if it's protesting the inclusion of more authors of diverse backgrounds - what is wrong with that as long as there is quality - there are many authors who are excellent and worth exploring - the greater the diversity, the broader the spectrum of good literature that students are exposed to.

I wouldn't be so quick to classify the students as "authoritarian" simply for demanding greater inclusion of non white non male authors in the selections.

They are completely and totally wrong. Non white authors have no place in a course on western civilization. The students are woke ignoramuses.

They might be - but, again - who knows, they did not mention any specific authors, and certainly - female authors would have a place in a course on western civilization.

Which female author had the most influence on Plato's Republic?

Female authors have a place in a study of literature but not the study of western civilization. Which female philosopher do you have in mind?

 

[EvilCat Breath]

You have literature, history and Western Civ all jumbled up in a big mess.

 

[initforme]

As a WHITE traditionally married former business owning american born citizen I say remove the white authors only kooky white people are upset by it. Nobody cares what they have to say. It's up to the university not a bunch of crybabies.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

This discussion is so parochial. I have no idea what books are studied on this course but I would be astonished if Jane Austen was not the first name on the list. She is the greatest novelist of all time. If you want another woman you can have a Bronte or George Eliot. I find them hard work but I can appreciate the talent.

I would also suggest that if you were compiling a list of literary giants there would not be many US authors on it. That is probably because the US came late to the party. A long time after Europe.

Its nearly 40 years since I did my Lit degree and pretty much every book on the course was British. Out of curiosity, I read Cervantes, Tolstoy, Balzac, Ibsen et al but I would have liked to have been given a wider range to study.

I think there is value in this protest because it has got people discussing books. I also think that some people have no interest in the merits or otherwise of the books and are just intent on making narrow political points.

 

[Ethos Logos Pathos]

Why is this not Condemned as Racist?

...because it was not deemed as, racist, during the many decades that only White male authors were being opportuned within the curriculum??

I think it's a small case of us Caucasians pretending (as usual) that only White people made America great, is all. Yes once notre dame racism became normal/acceptable for allowing White male authors to unfairly, dominate, then the human minds tend to forget how great other [ non-(White male) ] scholars are.

 

[JimBowie1958]

...because it was not deemed as, racist, during the many decades that only White male authors were being opportuned within the curriculum??
I think it's a small case of us Caucasians pretending (as usual) that only White people made America great, is all. Yes once notre dame racism became normal/acceptable for allowing White male authors to unfairly, dominate, then the human minds tend to forget how great other [ non-(White male) ] scholars are.

The construction of Western Civilization which inaugurated the Modern Era and has born 99% of modern tech was by white males.

White males developed English Common Law.

White males developed the legal concept of innate human rights.

White males developed modern economic theory.

White males developed modern mathematics.

White males developed modern chemistry.

White males developed modern physics.

Etc, so of course any serious review of the development of modern science, society, military, etc is going to be composed mostly of not exclusively of white males unless you want to go back to.....anywhere that had civilization. The Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Indians, Arabs, Romans, you name it, their top thinkers and leaders were all Caucasians and male.

So maybe you just need a safe space to feel better in, but it is not Reality.

 

[JimBowie1958]

They might be - but, again - who knows, they did not mention any specific authors, and certainly - female authors would have a place in a course on western civilization.

So you have n o concrete specific persons, just a generic desire to see all ethnicities and genders represented.

Why do you suppose college curriculums have time for that?

 

[sartre play]

encouraging people to read, and encouraging them to think out side the box, always a good thing.

 

[OldLady]

The Wokesters are so blatantly racist today, and it boggles my mind why they get away with it.

Notre Dame Students Call for the Removal of White Authors from Curriculum | Breitbart

Can someone explain why this is not damned as racism?

It is racism.

But it’s important to note that this is a fringe group. There have always been fringe groups on campus make silly demands such as this one, and there always will be.

Toro, this isn't "fringe" at all. Diversifying the "white male canon" became a thing way back in the 70's and by the time I hit college in the early 90's, women authors, black authors, Asian and Native American authors were included in the Greatest Hits. It's probably why I had to read Pride and Prejudice three times in my four years of college, majoring in English Lit. Not too many women wrote prior to the 1900's; they weren't taken seriously for a very long time after that.

I laugh when something as mainstream as diversifying the canon is held up as "racist" or "radical." The literary canon has been expanded to include many voices and perspectives, and it is a very interesting read. It's so mainstream now that people don't even talk about it anymore. I don't know what happened over at Notre Dame, but the rest of us moved on a long time ago.

 

[Coyote]

They might be - but, again - who knows, they did not mention any specific authors, and certainly - female authors would have a place in a course on western civilization.

So you have n o concrete specific persons, just a generic desire to see all ethnicities and genders represented.

Why do you suppose college curriculums have time for that?

Why wouldn't they if it is good literature? It is all ot there and equally attainable.

 

[OldLady]

For the silly people who place their need to virtue signal above common sense, I have one question and that is this : name twenty great writers off the top of your head. How many are black?

James Baldwin
Toni Morrisson
Octavia Butler
Ralph Ellison
Alex Haley

Having an education helps...

Don't forget Zora Neale Hurston.

 

[JimBowie1958]

Why wouldn't they if it is good literature? It is all ot there and equally attainable.

Why not base it on the ideas communicated instead of simply saying 'fewer white men'?

Why bring race and gender into the consideration at all?

 

[JimBowie1958]

I laugh when something as mainstream as diversifying the canon is held up as "racist" or "radical." The literary canon has been expanded to include many voices and perspectives, and it is a very interesting read.

I dont know how you can miss the racism in saying remove books by white men.

Student activists at the University of Notre Dame are calling for the removal of white authors from the university curriculum to “decolonize” the university. According to the students, “diversifying the canon helps eliminate the violence of only privileging white scholarship.”

According to a report by The College Fix, a student activist group at the University of Notre Dame called “End Hate at ND” is demanding that the university drastically rewrite course curriculum because they believe it currently features too many works by white authors.
​

Your reflexive defense of everything Woketard is interesting though.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Straight, white males represent significantly less than 50% of the population.

Students ask that straight, white, male autors constitute no more than 50% of the required reading so as to end the long-standing tradition of straight, white, male over-representation.

Cue the straight, white, male whining about, wait for it, racism against straight, white males.

The simple fact is that straight white males have produced most of the canonical works.

Lowering standards to meet racial and sexual quotas demeans all of those who strive to produce the greatest works.

Yep, these were works were deemed "canonical" because they were required reading, as determined by straight, white males. Put a little effort into it, and you might see the obvious circularity of the argument.

Your assumption that demands for more diverse reading material amounts to "Lowering standards" reeks of racism and misogyny. I also note you couldn't come up with an explanation as to why a more diverse reading canon would amount to racism, and would suggest that is because it is not.

The simple fact is that for most of history, women and minorities were excluded from producing literature at a high level. Those barriers are being torn down, and I’m sure 100 years from now, the canon will look different than it does today as females and nonwhites produce more and more works.

But demanding that works be included and excluded simply because of race and sex is by definition racist and sexist, and panders to those who aren’t good enough to produce works based solely on merit.

Beat me to it, I was about to say basically the exact same thing... it was ignorance and racism that led past scholars to ban materials based on the race/class of an individual - but it is even more ignorant to do so today

 

[OldLady]

I laugh when something as mainstream as diversifying the canon is held up as "racist" or "radical." The literary canon has been expanded to include many voices and perspectives, and it is a very interesting read.

I dont know how you can miss the racism in saying remove books by white men.

Student activists at the University of Notre Dame are calling for the removal of white authors from the university curriculum to “decolonize” the university. According to the students, “diversifying the canon helps eliminate the violence of only privileging white scholarship.”

According to a report by The College Fix, a student activist group at the University of Notre Dame called “End Hate at ND” is demanding that the university drastically rewrite course curriculum because they believe it currently features too many works by white authors.
​

Your reflexive defense of everything Woketard is interesting though.

Spin it any way you like, Jim. I'm just telling you the reality of the situation. Like I said, Notre Dame is way behind the times.
The only reason they need to cut out some of the white guys is that even Notre Dame English majors can only read so many novels in a semester. Expanding the canon to include other perspectives and points of view is a GOOD thing. It's really sad that it scares anyone.

 

[JimBowie1958]

Spin it any way you like, Jim. I'm just telling you the reality of the situation. Like I said, Notre Dame is way behind the times.
The only reason they need to cut out some of the white guys is that even Notre Dame English majors can only read so many novels in a semester. Expanding the canon to include other perspectives and points of view is a GOOD thing. It's really sad that it scares anyone.

Basing a reading curriculum change on racist views of ideas should be alarming and scary to everyone.

But keep on going with this sort of thing.

It will make the Revolution all that much easier when it comes.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I laugh when something as mainstream as diversifying the canon is held up as "racist" or "radical." The literary canon has been expanded to include many voices and perspectives, and it is a very interesting read.

I dont know how you can miss the racism in saying remove books by white men.

Student activists at the University of Notre Dame are calling for the removal of white authors from the university curriculum to “decolonize” the university. According to the students, “diversifying the canon helps eliminate the violence of only privileging white scholarship.”

According to a report by The College Fix, a student activist group at the University of Notre Dame called “End Hate at ND” is demanding that the university drastically rewrite course curriculum because they believe it currently features too many works by white authors.
​

Your reflexive defense of everything Woketard is interesting though.

Spin it any way you like, Jim. I'm just telling you the reality of the situation. Like I said, Notre Dame is way behind the times.
The only reason they need to cut out some of the white guys is that even Notre Dame English majors can only read so many novels in a semester. Expanding the canon to include other perspectives and points of view is a GOOD thing. It's really sad that it scares anyone.

Expanding is fine, excluding is another thing

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Be very specific and LIST for us the NON white male authors that should be included in the study of western civilization. Who should we add for ancient times? Who should we add for early ad times. who should we add for dark ages. Who should we add for enlightenment? Be specific now and list name and race of the author.

 

[OldLady]

I laugh when something as mainstream as diversifying the canon is held up as "racist" or "radical." The literary canon has been expanded to include many voices and perspectives, and it is a very interesting read.

I dont know how you can miss the racism in saying remove books by white men.

Student activists at the University of Notre Dame are calling for the removal of white authors from the university curriculum to “decolonize” the university. According to the students, “diversifying the canon helps eliminate the violence of only privileging white scholarship.”

According to a report by The College Fix, a student activist group at the University of Notre Dame called “End Hate at ND” is demanding that the university drastically rewrite course curriculum because they believe it currently features too many works by white authors.
​

Your reflexive defense of everything Woketard is interesting though.

Spin it any way you like, Jim. I'm just telling you the reality of the situation. Like I said, Notre Dame is way behind the times.
The only reason they need to cut out some of the white guys is that even Notre Dame English majors can only read so many novels in a semester. Expanding the canon to include other perspectives and points of view is a GOOD thing. It's really sad that it scares anyone.

Expanding is fine, excluding is another thing

No one is excluding.