After the last year racial unrest in US and Canadian universities, it seems that it was about time to start a larger discussion about the successes and failures of campus politics. Aimed to explain the current state of the art of academia beyond the high walls of universities, Campus Politics aims and succeeds to offer a balanced perspective on what was wrong and right with the philosophy that structured the campus everyday life in the last decades.
In a way I was expecting more boldness in approaching strategies such as the downsides of 'political corectness' and left wing mindsets, but this is not the purpose of the book. Instead, it offers a basis for serious discussions, and possible reconsiderations in the future. First, you need to know the terms and conditions and the reality. For instance, contrary to the stereotype, there are more conservative teachers and students in the North American universities than expected, which can explain how, in fact, the 'politically corect' approach was not that successful, despite the predominance of this discourse in the public space.
Many terms, such as freedom of speech - which isn't 'a license for professors to do whatever they want' - are sometimes misused and misunderstood, ant the race and gender equality is still an aim. In a way, academia is only one of the many environments a person is part thereof during a lifespan and as long as the other segments of the society ignore the need to consider seriously their admission and acceptance policies, universities are not (the only) responsible for the failure.
Another merit of the book is to take into consideration the 'very hard to understand world' shaped by the challenges taking place after 9/11, and also mentions the anti-Israel bias that can be encountered in many high-end academic circles.
As everything is in the making right now, with an unknown outcome, there is the responsibility of the students to offer a different approach. Instead of requesting the administration to take the needed measures, better they try to request and fight directly for their rights.
Written in a very analytical way - without trying to be apologetical or over-critical, with many information about the history of campus politics, the book is a recommended read to both academics and students, and anyone interested to understand the current academic challenges in the USA.
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange of an honest review
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