| Description |
1 online resource (vi, 202 pages) |
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data file |
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Bibliography |
| Physical Medium |
polychrome |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 161-187) and index. |
| Contents |
Introduction -- 1: Racist incident? -- 2: Discovering afrocentrism -- 3: Two views of ancient history -- 4: Turning myths into history -- 5: New anti-Semitism -- 6: Truth or slander? -- 7: Reparations? -- 8: Racist polemic? -- 9: Turning history into fiction -- Epilogue. |
| Summary |
From the Publisher: In the early 1990s, Classics professor Mary Lefkowitz discovered that one of her faculty colleagues at Wellesley College was teaching his students that Greek culture had been stolen from Africa and that Jews were responsible for the slave trade. This book tells the disturbing story of what happened when she spoke out. Lefkowitz quickly learned that to investigate the origin and meaning of myths composed by people who have for centuries been dead and buried is one thing, but it is quite another to critique myths that living people take very seriously. She also found that many in academia were reluctant to challenge the fashionable idea that truth is merely a form of opinion. For her insistent defense of obvious truths about the Greeks and the Jews, Lefkowitz was embroiled in turmoil for a decade. She faced institutional indifference, angry colleagues, reverse racism, anti-Semitism, and even a lawsuit intended to silence her. In History Lesson Lefkowitz describes what it was like to experience directly the power of both postmodernism and compensatory politics. She offers personal insights into important issues of academic values and political correctness, and she suggests practical solutions for the divisive and painful problems that arise when a political agenda takes precedence over objective scholarship. Her forthright tale uncovers surprising features in the landscape of higher education and an unexpected need for courage from those who venture there. |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
Wellesley College.
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Wellesley College. |
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Lefkowitz, Mary R., 1935-
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Lefkowitz, Mary R., 1935- |
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Lefkowitz, Mary R., 1935- |
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Wellesley College. |
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Wellesley College. |
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Wellesley (Mass.) -- Wellesley College. |
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History -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Massachusetts.
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History -- Study and teaching (Higher) |
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Massachusetts. |
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History. |
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Postmodernism and higher education.
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Postmodernism and higher education. |
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Racism in higher education.
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Racism in higher education. |
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Antisemitism in higher education.
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Antisemitism in higher education. |
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Academic freedom.
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Academic freedom. |
| Genre/Form |
Electronic books.
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| Other Form: |
Print version: Lefkowitz, Mary R., 1935- History lesson. New Haven, Conn. : Yale University Press, ©2008 9780300126594 (DLC) 2007043532 (OCoLC)179833176 |
| ISBN |
9780300145199 (electronic book) |
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0300145195 (electronic book) |
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9780300126594 (alkaline paper) |
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030012659X (alkaline paper) |
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1282089455 |
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9781282089457 |
| Standard No. |
9786612089459 |
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