Anti-intellectualism

pursue as many degrees as possible, some voices stand out erectly and reveal important shortcomings in the education system. Gerald Graff, a professor of English and Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago is one of them. In “Hidden Intellectualism”, Graff clarifies how the education system fails to recognize the non-academic knowledge, such as sports as the other means of intelligence – street smart. Graff implies that if colleges guide young minds how to…

When a political leader persuades through the use of appealing to emotions and prejudices rather than reasoning, or speaks critically, and appeals to those who are followers, they have set themselves up a foundation for demagoguery. Throughout history, our country has seen a long list of demagogues, such as Hitler and Joseph McCarthy. It is obvious why such an issue should matter to us. Both were politically leaders who carved themselves a huge hole in history as the villain. The latest…

He mentions Harvard where even in one of the most prestigious academic institutions, “… anti-intellectualism is rampant…” It is such chagrin that students are embarrassed to confess how much time they spend studying, or how important academic achievement is to them, or sometimes share their well-earned high grades with their classmates. It should…

because the topics being taught did not interest you in the slightest. What if the topics you were most passionate about was the ones being taught? There are multiple ways of being intelligent outside a classroom. Gerald Graff writes “Hidden Intellectualism” where he argues that opportunities are being missed to apply kids street smarts to a path of success. Schools are only teaching kids how to be academically intellectual whether it’s the right path for the child or not. Similarly a…

What if people were defined by their intellectual ability and not by their educational creditionals or if people where taught how to be intellectual along with obtaining a formal education? Well in the articles, “Hidden Intellectualism” by Gerald Graff and “Blue Collar Brilliance” by Mike Rose both illustrates the term being intellectual is beyond the norm of school textbook knowledge. They believes that there are many forms of intelligence in which it can be capitalize and utilize as a life…

One of the themes I pulled out of this book was animal imagery. This novel is interesting and intriguing. I say this because the author decides to Develop this book in the years following World War II, Fahrenheit 451 criticizes not only the anti-intellectualism of the defeated Nazi party in Germany, but the intellectually oppressive political climate of the early 1950's. That such influential fictional social criticisms such as Orwell's Animal Farm 1984 was…

Was there a great awakening in mid eighteenth century in America Although generations of America have been taught that the colonies in America were founded by people fleeing religious persecution in England, many of those people were motivated by other factors to come. To be sure, the settlers of New England sought to escape the prosecutions established by the Church of England. Many colonists, however, did not adhere to the precepts of Calvinism and were therefore viewed as outsiders. The…

Some may say that being intellectual means being book smart, while others say that it is being street smart. In an entry of “Hidden Intellectualism” by Gerald Graff, Graff believes that one can actually become intellectual if they start learning about topics they actually enjoy and then slowly start easing into challenging topics. While many argue that intellectualism is limited to the studies of school, non-academic activities such as traveling and truly experiencing these events can teach one…

Within the United States, both income inequality and an alarming trend of anti intellectualism has become the modern norm. According to Winston Churchill, “the best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter”. This comical expression poses a compelling summation of the modern American political landscape, as evidenced by the most recent election. While midterm elections happen frequently, the majority of Americans abstain. At the same time, Americans wonder…

Q2 What’s wrong with being intellectually curious and academically serious? Apparently everything, as far as society’s concerned, but Fridman thinks not. In the article “America Needs Its Nerds,” Leonid Fridman criticizes American society for its anti-intellectual values and emphasizes the need to stand against it through the use of rhetorical strategies such as exemplifications and comparisons. He adopts a criticizing, reprimanding tone towards the audience in order to ensure the realization…