Reply to Lit programs that have not succumbed to postmodernism/cultural studies

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "Lit programs that have not succumbed to postmodernism/cultural studies"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]One of the great fallacies in the study of the literary and historical past is the assumption that what we have - even if we admire it - is the best version of anything.  Just because something is old and famous doesn't actually make it good or even correct.  That's why the inclusion of writers you haven't heard of already in an attempt to learn more about any given culture is so important.  It's the sum total of the evidence that matters, coupled with the humility required to admit that the evidence is never going to give a full picture even when it is approached from every possible angle.

This doesn't mean that the entire human race is lost in a sea of moral relativism.  It just means that all assumptions at the outset shape the conclusions at the end.  And the assumption that a canon of western texts are all trending towards the same narrowly defined value set is a modern superimposition.  You can use those texts that way if you want to.  Just don't pretend that that was their original (homogeneous) message within the cultures that created them.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics