Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
By the national bestselling author of The War on Cops a provocative account of the erosion of humanities and the rise of intolerance
The American university is in crisis and taking the rest of society with it. Toxic ideas promulgated by higher education are undermining the classical values of the humanities, fueling intolerance, and widening, rather than healing divisions, and rapidly infecting our larger culture. Students emerge into the world believing that human beings are defined by their skin color, gender, and sexual preference, and that oppression based on these characteristics defines the American experience.
The Diversity Delusion argues that the root of this problem is our reckless pursuit of diversity, at the cost of a truly liberal education. Heather Mac Donald argues that today's university culture is remaking the world in its image, with destructive results for students, potential employers, and society in general. Mac Donald punctures the victimology cult by telling the truth about the university: there has never been a more welcoming, opportunity-filled environment; far from being oppressed, American college students are among the most privileged individuals in human history.
The Diversity Delusion calls for a return to learning that broadens the mind and takes students outside of their narrow selves. Unless the victimology university is dismantled, American society will grow ever more fractured and thought ever less free.
Synopsis
By the national bestselling author of The War on Cops a provocative account of the erosion of humanities and the rise of intolerance
America is in crisis, from the university to the workplace. Toxic ideas first spread by higher education have undermined humanistic values, fueled intolerance, and widened, rather than healed, divisions in our larger culture. Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton? Oppressive. American history? Tyranny. Professors correcting grammar and spelling, or employers hiring by merit? Racist, sexist, classist. Students emerge into the working world believing that human beings are defined by their skin color, gender, and sexual preference, and that oppression based on these characteristics is the American experience. Speech that challenges campus orthodoxies is being silenced with brute force.
The Diversity Delusion argues that the root of this problem is the belief in America's endemic racism and sexism, a belief that has engendered a metastasizing diversity bureaucracy in society and academia. Those diversity commissars denounce meritocratic standards as discriminatory, enforce hiring quotas, and teach students and adults alike to think of themselves as perpetual victims. From #MeToo mania that blurs flirtations with criminal acts, to implicit bias and diversity compliance training that sees racism in every interaction, Heather Mac Donald argues that we are creating a nation of narrowed minds, primed for grievance, and putting our competitive edge at risk.
But there is hope, too, in the works of authors, composers, and artists who have long inspired the best in us. Compiling the author's decades of research and writing on the subject, The Diversity Delusion calls for a return to the classical liberal pursuits of open-minded inquiry and expression, by which everyone can discover a common humanity.
Synopsis
By the New York Times bestselling author: a provocative account of the attack on the humanities, the rise of intolerance, and the erosion of serious learning
America is in crisis, from the university to the workplace. Toxic ideas first spread by higher education have undermined humanistic values, fueled intolerance, and widened divisions in our larger culture. Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton? Oppressive. American history? Tyranny. Professors correcting grammar and spelling, or employers hiring by merit? Racist and sexist. Students emerge into the working world believing that human beings are defined by their skin color, gender, and sexual preference, and that oppression based on these characteristics is the American experience. Speech that challenges these campus orthodoxies is silenced with brute force.
The Diversity Delusion argues that the root of this problem is the belief in America's endemic racism and sexism, a belief that has engendered a metastasizing diversity bureaucracy in society and academia. Diversity commissars denounce meritocratic standards as discriminatory, enforce hiring quotas, and teach students and adults alike to think of themselves as perpetual victims. From #MeToo mania that blurs flirtations with criminal acts, to implicit bias and diversity compliance training that sees racism in every interaction, Heather Mac Donald argues that we are creating a nation of narrowed minds, primed for grievance, and that we are putting our competitive edge at risk.
But there is hope in the works of authors, composers, and artists who have long inspired the best in us. Compiling the author's decades of research and writing on the subject, The Diversity Delusion calls for a return to the classical liberal pursuits of open-minded inquiry and expression, by which everyone can discover a common humanity.