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dy of traditions and achievements of other nations and of ethnic subcultures is important and should be encouraged. But this must proceed ina manner that is intellectually honest and does not serve as a pretext for inserting polemics into the curricu- lum. Furthermore, *‘multicultural education’’ should not take place at the expense of studies that transcend _ cultural differences: the truths of mathematics, the sciences, history, and so on, are not different for _ people of different races, sexes, or cultures, and for that reason alone their study is liberating. Nor should we further attenuate the study of traditions of the West. Not only is knowledge of those traditions essential for any evaluation of our own institutions, it is increasingly relevant to our understanding of other nations, which, in striking testament to the universal- _ ity of the values they embody, are rapidly adopting _ Western practices to their own situations.

_ The National Association of Scholars is in favor of

} ethnic studies, the study of non-Western cultures, and the study of the special problems of women and minorities in our society, but it opposes subordinating entire humanities and social sciences curricula to such studies and it views with alarm their growing politicization. Efforts purportedly made to introduce ‘other points of view’’ and ‘‘pluralism’’ oftenseem in fact designed to restrict attention to a narrow set of issues, tendentiously defined. An examination of many women’s studies and minority studies courses and programs discloses little study of other cultures and much excoriation of our society for its alleged oppression of women, blacks, and others. The banner _ of ‘cultural diversity’’ is apparently being raised by some whose paramount interest actually lies in attack- ing the West and its institutions.

_ We urge our colleagues to demand clear explanations _ and cogent arguments in support of the proposals

_ being so rapidly brought before them, and to reject

_ any that cannot be justified. The curriculum is and

_ should be opento change, but we must rebut the false _ charges being made against existing disciplines. We must also reject the allegations of ‘‘racism’’ and

_ “’sexism’’ that are frequently leveled against honest

_ critics of the new proposals, and which only have the _ effect of stifling much-needed debate,

_ Additional copies of this statement or information

_ about the National Association of Scholars and its

_ activities, including its Fellows Program, Research

_ Center, Speakers Bureau, state and regional affiliates, _ conferences, local membership events, executive and

: UP ae at aa its quarterly A¢ademic /UPEI X-P RESS |

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Beets oa |

February 13, 1992

" Questions, may be obtained by writing to the National

Association of Scholars, 575 Ewing Street, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA, or by calling 609-683-7878. ‘For Reasoned Scholarship ina Free Society”’

A Politically Incorrect Reading List

Dinesh D’ Souza, IIliberal Education: The Politics of Race and Sex on Campus.

Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind. Roger Kimball, Tenured Radicals.

Betty Steele, Feminist Takeover: From Patriarchy to Matriarchy in Twenty Years.

John Ellis, Against Deconstruction.

Israel Scheffler, Science and Subjectivity.

Nathaniel Weyl, Karl Marx: Racist.

Stephen Carter, Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby.

Robert Hughes, ‘‘The Fraying of America’’ in Time (February 3, 1992) p. 44-49.

Also notable is a review of Susan Faludi’s Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Charlotte Allen in Commentary (February, 1992) p. 62-64. We don’t shy away from reading any ‘*Politically Correct’’ works, we challenge anyone to do the same with any of the works listed above (Illib- eral Education and ‘*‘The Fraying of America’ come highly recommended).

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