Abstract

The influence of movements promoting multiculturalism and political correctness on university campuses has become pervasive - affecting decisions on admissions and hiring, changes in the curriculum, and the implementation of codes governing speech. Yet these movements are not without their detractors: those who view recent developments as a threat to academic freedom. The contributors to The Imperiled Academy - nine prominent academics and specialists in history, government, philosophy, law, and public policy - assess the current state of American universities and their prospects for the future. Daniel Bonevac explores an apparent tension between the multiculturalist and political-correctness movements, noting that while one seeks to promote pluralism and diversity, the other seeks to limit the expression of views deemed offensive. Yet the two movements are allied. Bonevac contends that they have gained support by putting forward appealing pluralistic rhetoric which tends to obscure their illiberal and highly political agenda. Stanley Rothman attempts to understand recent trends at American universities by looking at the history of higher education and by relating changes there to changes in the role of intellectuals and, more broadly, in the character of Western culture. Seymour Martin Lipset views recent events in academia as expressions of a distinctive American moralism, involving a belief in the perfectibility of humanity, in the obligation to avoid sin, and in the righteousness of moral crusades. Eric Mack relates the views of today's multiculturalists to those of historian of ideas Isaiah Berlin, whose work presents a thoughtful and often neglected examination of the nature of diversity. Lino Graglia explores the use of racial preferences to achieve diversity in university admissions, arguing that affirmative-action programs are the primary cause of increased racial tensions on campuses and the source of demands for ethnic studies programs and "hate speech" codes. Alan Charles Kors undertakes a critique of such codes, noting that the generation of the 1960s, which once fought for freedom of expression, is now trying to impose its own political agenda on undergraduates. Joseph Hamburger examines the theory that lies behind efforts to limit free speech on campus. He suggests that the "persecutory spirit" on modern campuses derives from the multiculturalists' conviction that the elimination of inequalities based on race, class, and sex is the most pressing problem facing our society - a problem that only the universities' influence can help solve. Jerry L. Martin considers the proper role of the university, examining the belief of some academics that the mission of higher education should be, not the pursuit of "objective" truth, but the fundamental transformation of society. Fred Sommers argues that the very idea of objectivity is under assault, and that reputable analytic philosophers are inadvertently lending support to objectivity's critics.