Synopses & Reviews
In this interdisciplinary application of rhetorical analysis, Donald Lazere argues that college educators should publicly address and teach students to be aware of the conservative biases in American politics, media, and education itself that are generally assumed to be the norm of 'business as usual.' Because only bias on the left has been publicly 'marked,' mainstream discourse shuts out any proportionate comparison with all the biases on the right—surveyed here at length. Lazere appeals to conservative scholars and intellectuals to engage in good-faith dialogue with leftist counterparts toward a balanced assessment of opposing biases.
Synopsis
Presenting a thoughtful justification for the academic left in American higher education, Donald Lazere argues that in order to teach students rhetoric and critical thinking, key components of a humanist education, educators must discuss and teach students to grapple with the conservative bias in academia, the media, and politics that is considered to be the status quo.
About the Author
Donald Lazere is Professor Emeritus in the Department of English at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, USA.
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Dilemma of Culture-Wars Polemics: Distinguishing Valuable Originals from Gross Parodies
PART I: COUNTERING THE BIAS OF BUSINESS AS USUAL
1. Conservatism as the Unmarked Norm
2. Restricted-Code Conservatism
3. Socialism as a Cognitive Alternative
PART II: COUNTERING THE CONSERVATIVE COUNTER-ESTABLISHMENT
4. The Conservative Attack Machine: Admit Nothing, Deny Everything, Launch Counterattack
5. Right-Wing Deconstruction: Mimicry and False Equivalences
6. From Partisan Review to Fox News: Neoconservatives As Defenders Of Intellectual Standards
7. Conservative Culture-War Scholarship: Fair and Balanced?
PART III: RESPONSIBLE LEFTIST TEACHING
8. Balancing Commitment and Fairness: Giving Conservatives Their Best Shot
9. A Case Study: Conservative versus Leftist Views on College Costs
10. The Radical Humanistic Canon
Conclusion: An Appeal to Conservative Readers