Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: his essay charts and examines presidential anti-intellectualism in its public dimension. It presents textual evidence to demonstrate the existence and intensification of “dumbing down” throughout presidential history; traces the mildly anti-intellectual aversion to “rhetoric” and the decisions to simplify presidential discourse through presidential and speechwriting decisions made from the Truman through to the present administration; and explains how these individual decisions to go anti-intellectual accumulate and collectively present a serious but intractable threat to the health of the republic, instantiating a classic case of the tyranny of small decisions.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Why are Middle East area specialists who oppose U.S. policy in the region become such targets of attack in the media and in legislative bodies? Is this comparable to similar criticisms posed at Latin Americanists in the 1980s and Southeast Asia specialists in the 1960s or is it qualitatively worse? Do Middle East specialists, in their effort to better understand societies they research and to counter prejudicial attitudes in the West, tend to "go native" in rationalizing for or ignoring dangerous reactionary trends? This paper examines these and other issues facing those who study Middle East policy in today's heated political environment, including the growing anti-intellectualism in the U.S. government and by Bush administration supporters; the distinct roles of Middle East specialists in research, in public debates and in the classroom, particularly in relation to the enormous growth of interest in Middle East studies in recent years; and, the role of the religious right, Zionists, "Arabists," neoconservatives, the left, Islamists and other ideological forces.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Our faith experiences and the role of religious institutions and denominations in our society are changing; the civic health of communities is in decline; and, our intellectual heritage and the value of education are under attack. The major hypothesis of this research is that these trends are interrelated. But, as is evident from the literature on civic engagement, faith, and anti-intellectualism, the social research community’s understanding of these interrelationships is insufficient.

This research effort is designed to move toward a clearer, more substantial understanding of dynamics that tie these trends together. Toward that end, this essay will focus on the least explored element among recent social capital and civic engagement studies: anti-intellectualism, paying particular attention to the role of religious anti-intellectualism on an individual and community level. The intent is to begin the process that will allow us to develop measures of religious capital, religious heterogeneity, intellectual capital, and intellectual heterogeneity necessary to explore the interplay between religious anti-intellectualism and indicators of civic success: levels of civic participation, social trust, and a variety of statistics reflecting social health.

Publication Type: Individual Paper
Abstract: The “lack” of academic motivation with black youth and the educational achievement gap between this group and whites is often studied, but scholars do not agree on the reasons for this perceived lack of academic prowess among blacks and the increasing achievement gap. Aidi (2003) argues that some scholars blame hip-hop culture for the perceived lack of intellectual strivings within this population. They point to a decrease in recreational reading among black youth with an increase in listening to rap music and participation in Hip-hop culture and relate it to the fostering of a culture of anti-intellectualism.
This perceived anti-intellectualism may be students rebelling against the Eurocentric approach to schooling and not necessarily a sign of lower intellectual ability. Another argument is hip-hop culture does not “dumb down” black youth culture, but instead gives a voice and space to oppose the dominant cultural views and values. Thus, the term perceived anti-intellectualism is used because black youth culture in and of itself can be viewed as opposed to dominant culture. Rather than viewing the rejection of the mainstream as anti-intellectual, one can view anti-intellectualism as the anti-white dominated view; a rejection of white, puritanical, ethnocentric cultural norms and means of defining one’s existence. This project is focused on the societal restraints and obstacles that impact intellectual progress and development of black youth in urban neighborhoods and public schools. It is argued that there are more pressing issues besides hip-hop culture that have a more detrimental affect on the lives of black youth.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This essay charts and examines presidential anti-intellectualism in its public dimension. It presents textual evidence to demonstrate the existence and intensification of “dumbing down” throughout presidential history; traces the mildly anti-intellectual aversion to “rhetoric” and the decisions to simplify presidential discourse through presidential and speechwriting decisions made from the Truman through to the present administration; and explains how these individual decisions to go anti-intellectual accumulate and collectively present a serious but intractable threat to the health of the republic, instantiating a classic case of the tyranny of small decisions.