anti-intellectualism essay

During his time in the national limelight, Eisenhower advocated himself in the image of an anti-intellectual. In spirits of anti-intellectualism, Eisenhower often was shown exhibiting a practical and straightforward demeanor as opposed to his elitist counterparts. The portrayal of his sensible and pragmatic appearance came to be through the use of his plain-spoken rhetoric

1 In the time surrounding the 1950s, intellectualism was hostilely viewed by most, and was a subject towards which division and ambivalence were pointed. Book-smarts and intellectualism were contrasts to regular life. The article “Hidden Intellectualism” is written by a man named Gerald Graff, an English and Education professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago. In his article, Graff argues with a compelling case, that not only is intellectualism found in the academic world, but can also

Anti-Intellectualism and society's overall decline Anti-intellectualism is an attitude that minimizes the value of intelligence, knowledge and curiosity. The death of thinking and anti-intellectualism is becoming a trend in American culture. The reason for this behavior is due to the ignorance of science, arts, and society and it's replacement by entertainment and ignorance. Wanting to learn new things isn't much of a trend and never was. Anti-intellectualism has became a tradition in America, unlike

In a 2014 article on Psychologytoday.com, Ray Williams informs his audience about the rise of anti-intellectualism in American in an article called: Anti-Intellectualism and the “Dumbing Down” of America. Williams clams that America has suffered in intellectualism because society has dismissed science, the arts, and humanities and have been replaced by media, entertainment, and ignorance. He backs up this claim by citing Susan Jacoby, author of The Age of American Unreason, Pulitzer price winner

Undiscovered Intellectualism: An Amendment to Hidden Intellectualism In Hidden Intellectualism, Gerald Graff seeks to expose what he believes to be a fundamental issue in today’s schools and colleges. He brings attention to “street smarts”, students who are intelligent about so many things in life, yet their potential is overlooked because the things they are knowledgeable about are not things we associate with educated life such as cars, sports and video games. He claims that students are more

Grant Penrod, a former student of Arizona State University, writes a piece about how the smart kids get ostracized called Anti-Intellectualism: Why We Hate the Smart Kids. There are smart kids on every school across the nation. These kids are usually not athletic or popular, but some are. Penrod wrote about the non-athletic and non-popular smart kids. These “nerds” are being looked at negatively. They are getting unpopular stereotypes. It isn’t cool to be smart anymore. It’s looked at as if you

In Hidden Intellectualism, Gerald Graff explains his views on street smarts being just as good if not better than academic smarts. Graff claims that when giving the opportunity to learn using things that spark their interest students are more likely to develop intellectual identities. He offers his experience dealing with streets smarts and his love for sports magazines to support his claim. In his teens, Graff was anti-intellectualism and growing up in Chicago, literacy was seen as disrespectful

and geeks in America; instead of shaming and stereotyping them. In the first half of this essay, Fridman’s passionate, almost outraged diction is clearly brought into light when he says, “… [a] prestigious academic institution like Harvard, anti-intellectualism is rampant.” which impacts the reader in that even at one of the most difficult college campuses to attain admission in America, “students are ashamed to admit… how much they study.” This makes the reader feel almost hopeless because this implies

A Summary of “Hidden Intellectualism” Should students be taught to read and become interested in sports rather than proper intellectual subjects? This is the question that Gerald Graff seeks to answer in his essay, “Hidden Intellectualism”. Graff begins his essay by asking the reader if he or she knows anybody who they consider to be street smart but struggles in school. His assertion relating to these particular individuals is that maybe it is the school system’s fault for not properly learning

Synthesis Essay My college professor asked our class one day, “What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of intellectualism?” My immediate response consisted of text books, school, and multiple hours of studying. However, after reading a few articles covering different viewpoints on intellectualism, I had a change of thought. Intellectualism within schools, and society today falls under one category: the “book smarts.” Many people think others are intelligent because of their