3 Comments

1. Ioana Stoica says:
   November 29, 2009 at 6:06 am

   After the first (and only truly substantive chapter), I would have given this work 4 stars; having (with difficulty) swallowed the next three chapters, I had to revise this rating down to 2 stars.

   In the first part of the book, Giroux makes a compelling argument that institutionalized forms of academics have succumbed to the national security state and to a mythico-masculine idealization of American imperialism. Giroux writes that this military-industrial-academic complex has taken over American universities, that the intersection of corporatism and militarization legitimizes and normalizes a constant state of terror/fear (especially embodied in our culture since 9/11), and that the academy is a contested terrain in which such struggles manifest in a unique and singular way.

   Though this first part is clearly rooted in an Enlightenment-democracy-model of education and thus has its agenda and ideological orientation, it’s not ostentatiously polemical. The second part, however, degenerates rapidly into polemical rantings: he complains that Horowitz speaks in “sweeping monolithic terms” of “the Left”, while speaking in sweeping monolithic terms of the “formidable alliance of far-right-wing foundations”, conservative talk-show hosts, thinktanks, and the like. He bemoans that the “right” uses a rhetoric of fear and terror, while urging us to consider his argument on terms that engender fear (this is, after all, a “dark time”, characterized by “dark” forces that threaten democracy and all that is good in America, and so on). In other words, Giroux uses the language and rhetoric of the “right” in his “leftist” rant, and is thus not any more “academic” or “professional” in his tone than those he so adamantly condemns.

   (And, on a personal note–not that Giroux ever feels compelled to share his background as a context for his views–I am a liberal in academia, not an outraged “rightist”. What does outrage me, however, is the doublespeak of the “left”: instead of practicing a politics of reconciliation, as they preach, they continue divisive dialogue.

   A typical example: After lamenting that democracy is not respected in the academy, Giroux asserts that “because students disagree with an unsettling idea doe not mean that they have the authority, expertise, education, or power to dictate for all their classmates… [what the curriculum should be]“… and that there is “no language for conservative students to become conscious of their own ignorance”. I challenge Dr. Giroux to critically examine these assertions: does he truly want to claim that students (in a democratic academy, student who are supposedly critical thinkers, Enlightened rationalists, etc) are in fact powerless to challenge their curriculum?? And SHOULD BE?? because they do not have “the authority, expertise, education”.. or “language” to understand their “ignorance”?? Whoa…)
   Rating: 2 / 5
2. Adam Fletcher says:
   November 29, 2009 at 7:42 am

   Henry Giroux has written a book for the ages by daftly examining the impacts and effects of history on America today. Framing his argument with the prophetic words of Dwight Eisenhower’s farewell speech to the American public, Giroux details the thorough and heinous complicities of current practices and policies throughout the American higher education system in conjunction with those of the military industry. The dubiousness of the publicly-funded University of Illinois’s for-profit campus is given new light through Giroux’s famous analysis of the new neoliberalism griping colleges and universities, particularly in light of the ongoing terror of the Bush Administration’s Iraq War. Perhaps most powerful are the radical implications Giroux concludes: rather than simply influencing college research or widening the gap between the haves and have nots in America today, the military-industrial-academic complex is destroying the very foundations of American democracy. We have no choice rather than respond; Giroux gives us more than ample reason and recommendations for what to do next.
   Rating: 5 / 5
3. D. morris says:
   November 29, 2009 at 8:51 am

   Henry Giroux’s latest is a crucial contribution to our understanding of US culture, US politics and US education in an increasingly militarized society.

   “The University in Chains” is a stunning tour-de-force that rigorously examines the multi-tiered military, corporate and right-wing assaults on the university and culture. Giroux writes with a clarity and urgency that is riveting; his impassioned concern for education, human rights and meaningful democracy is inspiring; and, importantly, his critical insights into how we can break the chains and transform the university into a substantive democratic public space committed to providing students and citizens with tools and skills to address our most pressing problems are empowering and necessary.

   The book is essential reading for everyone inside and outside the academy concerned with the increasing and foreboding militarization of the world, the corporate takeover of every corner of human life, and the narrowing ideological impositions of right-wing “super-patriot” fundamentalists. The book moves crucially from critique to a call for intervention and is therefore indispensable for those attentive to the need for fighting back, as well as those interested in matters of pedagogy, public education, social justice, human rights, and producing a meaningful democratic vision, culture and practice.

   The section on “The Necessity of Critical Pedagogy” is an invigorating and powerful statement that brings much depth and meaning to the practice and theory of critical pedagogy. It will help those both familiar and unfamiliar with critical pedagogy gain a deeper grasp, and one hopes, commitment.

   If you are a student, teacher, professor, or citizen READ THIS BOOK carefully, and share it widely. It is a vital contribution toward a path to a more decent and meaningful human existence for all.
   
   Rating: 5 / 5