Vol. 65 No. 3 1998 - page 509

EDITH KURZWEIL
509
assimilationist goals, to form organizations defending particular identities,
tribalism, separatism, and Islamic fundamentalism-just as the end of
empire led the British to question their own identity. He asked whether
the British version of multiculturalism helps integrate minorities, or hin–
ders integration by keeping them wi thin their own boundaries; and
whether the separation into groups is divisive to the society, even though
younger generations of immigrants no longer are connected to their coun–
try of origin. In England, stated Pryce-Jones, black power is a spent force,
but Islamic fundamentalism, which is "incapable of tolerating the exis–
tence of others as others," is thriving. He perceived the European Union
as yet another danger: its emphasis on doing away with nation states and
territoriality (as the fomentors of war) fosters the identification of individ–
uals with their tribal origins, such as Basques, Corsicans, the IRA,
Flemings, northern Italians, and so on. As in the case of the former
Yugoslavia, their claims may lead to local wars, to acting on prejudices that
for a long time had been forgotten. Under these circumstances, will
Britons who themselves feel marginalized create yet another backlash?
(This situation, I kept thinking, makes it even more necessary to provide
civic and humanistic education for everyone.)
Michael Meyers addressed racial prejudice in America. He pleaded for
more and better education, so that all citizens will learn to reason. He cited
problems resulting from the implementation of affirmative action on
American college campuses, where such things as black studies, black
dorms, black karate, minority student
affairs,
etc. have instituted ghettoiza–
tion rather than furthered the equality they were meant to. And he asked
us to dismantle "the racial idiocy of our society," to do away with exclu–
sionary and unequal rules. Nathan Glazer, with his customary moderation,
threw water on the flames by recounting the history and use of the vari–
eties of multiculturalism, and their links to postmodern theories and fads.
He downplayed their impact on the humanities and social sciences.
Comparing required courses in the past and the present, he found that they
had not changed very much, and that students never were forced to regis–
ter for courses in such areas as womens' studies, and gay and lesbian studies.
He too spoke of the challenge posed by immigration, and, with the help
of examples, contrasted "historical cultures" to newly "constructed"
ones-which now demand inclusion. That brought us back, once again, to
where we had started: at what students ought to know-as members of
their societies, as informed citizens, as optimally functioning adults.
"You learn for yourself," my mother used to say while I was growing
up, "What you know no one can take away." But what about the students
who don't care for abstract knowledge, who prefer to work with their
hands, to become plumbers, or disc jockeys, or owners of small stores? I
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