I think it’s a question of at what level. Having stringent views either way probably isn’t sustainable but I do think there’s a case for trying to ensure that at undergraduate level people have to have broad understanding and are exposed to a wide range of views. Being specific, my issue isn’t that Butler is read and taught but that it s…
I think it’s a question of at what level. Having stringent views either way probably isn’t sustainable but I do think there’s a case for trying to ensure that at undergraduate level people have to have broad understanding and are exposed to a wide range of views. Being specific, my issue isn’t that Butler is read and taught but that it seems it’s possible to read & being taught Butler without having a grounding in ideas that present a different perspective or directly critique her.
It’s probably not so much is it ok for it to be a separate discipline but how is it structured, how narrow are the ideas that are being taught. If the starting position is that the crit theory/po mo world view is a kind of truth and criticism of it can be dismissed as simply a power move of white, male, cis blah blah, clearly that’s unhealthy, it certainly doesn’t have to be that.
I think it’s a question of at what level. Having stringent views either way probably isn’t sustainable but I do think there’s a case for trying to ensure that at undergraduate level people have to have broad understanding and are exposed to a wide range of views. Being specific, my issue isn’t that Butler is read and taught but that it seems it’s possible to read & being taught Butler without having a grounding in ideas that present a different perspective or directly critique her.
It’s probably not so much is it ok for it to be a separate discipline but how is it structured, how narrow are the ideas that are being taught. If the starting position is that the crit theory/po mo world view is a kind of truth and criticism of it can be dismissed as simply a power move of white, male, cis blah blah, clearly that’s unhealthy, it certainly doesn’t have to be that.