Description
Book SynopsisBryson deconstructs the canon wars and uses English departments to demonstrate that social structure is the cornerstone of culture and the appropriate target for cultural policy.
Trade Review"...Bryson's book is an incisive and provocative account of multiculturalism in action, told in a style that never strains for academic pomposity. In an important way, hers is a telltale reminder that multiculturalism, when it remains as empty talk, can easily become a cover for the deeper structural problems that reproduce social inequality." --
American Journal of SociologyTable of Contents@fmct:Contents @toc4:List of Tables and Figures iii Acknowledgments iii @toc2:1 Introduction: Culture to the Rescue 0 @toc3:The Myth of Omnipotent Culture 0 The Research 0 A Road Map for Cultural Change 0 @toc2:2 Professors and the Press: Definitions of Multiculturalism 00 @toc3:Multiculturalism in the National Arena 00 My First Interview 00 Making Sense of Multiculturalism 00 Four Themes 00 Meaninglessness 00 Diversity 00 Non-Diversity (Literary Value and the Anti-Canon) 00 Connections 00 The Heart of the Multicultural Lotus 00 Fighting Words 00 @toc2:3 Abstraction in Action: Departmental Multiculturalism 00 @toc3:Ivory Towers 000 State Star 00 Multicultural State 00 Cathletic 00 Organized Culture 00 @toc2:4 Taking Sides in Quicksand: Meaning, Abstraction & Ambiguity 000 @toc3:The Role of Meaning and Ambiguity in Stancetaking 000 Abstraction, Responsibility & Opinion 000 Prestigious Complexity and Public Support 000 Refinement: Multiple Meanings Lead to Mixed Opinions 000 @toc2:5 Boundary Disputes: The Cultural Territories of Academe 000 @toc3:The "crisis" in English literature 000 State Star 000 Ivory Towers 000 Multicultural State 000 Cathletic University 000 Conclusion 000 @toc2:6 Managing Multiculturalism: Curriculum Strategies for Reducing Conflict 000 @toc3:Curricular Battlegrounds 000 Ivory Towers 000 State Star 000 MC State 000 Cathletic University 000 Conflict and the Curriculum 000 @toc2:7 Conclusion: Culture to Blame 000 @toc3:A Policy Response to Bad Culture 000 Powerful Abstractions 000 Radical Change Requires Structure 000 Racist Structures 000 Beyond Socialization: Speaking Truth to Structure 000 Translating Cultural Change 000 @toc4:Notes 000 References 000 Index 000
