<p>Intending to refute the notion that he fosters a left wing, anti-western bias among Yale faculty, Levin inadvertantly proved the point in today’s WSJ. After claiming he handled poorly the rejection of the $20 million gift for western civ studies, and should have found some way to accept the gift, he says: </p>
<p>"On the touchy matter of ideological diversity on American campuses, he says, “I think we’re beyond the culture wars – certainly at Yale. I think we have a healthy coexistence between scholars devoted to the study of the traditional canon of Western civilization and those that are interested in more innovative approaches.'”</p>
<p>Translation: West = old, orthodox and wrongly “canonized.” Non-western cultures = new, fresh, intelligent and preferable. </p>
<p>Come on. “Traditional canon of Western civilization” is a phrase that enthusiasts for Western civ and core curricula (“scholars”!) use all the time. Or like the phrases they use. “Canon” is one of their favorite terms. “More innovative approaches” hardly translates as “new, fresh, intelligent and preferable”. It could just as easily translate as “new, unproven, and questionable” – damning with faint praise.</p>
<p>The irony of the statement is much more subtle. Yale’s perhaps most vociferous canon-eer over the past few decades, Harold Bloom, is like a fountain of “innovative approaches”. He’s a strong advocate for studying Shakespeare, Milton, and Wordsworth before spending time on Toni Morrison, but if you’re going to study them with him you had better be sharp on your Freud, Lacan, Lurianic Kabbala, and Gnostic philosophy. Methodologically, most of the people who focus on Third World cultures are much more conservative.</p>
<p>UMDAD–That’s what he was talking about. When I read the article on Saturday, I suspected Levin’s “more innovative approaches” language was going to draw comments, but never thought “traditional canon” would be interpreted as a slight.</p>
<p>I thought he meant innovative = new not innovative = better. Over time, some innovation will = better but a lot will fall by the wayside. The survivors will then become part of traditional.</p>
<p>In the early '90s, Lee Bass gave Yale $20 million to endow a special Western Civilization course that would be open to all undergraduates (presumably in lots of sections). The faculty ditzed around arguing about what it should contain, politics were involved, and Bass got upset and ultimately demanded approval over who would teach in the course. After some heated discussions, Yale said “no” and gave the money back. In the process, it angered the whole Bass/Richardson family, one of the wealthiest in Texas and theretofore staunch Yale supporters. No one’s finest moment.</p>
<p>It’s important to learn about Western civilization, but what’s more important is the approach to doing so. It certainly should not be privileged to the extent that the University of Chicago (esp. the students) or St. John’s College does.</p>