Not quite sure what the topic of this book was; maybe the state of education in the US, especially higher-ed? Or maybe more generally the state of the country itself? In any event I mostly liked the book, even though it kind of wandered around. Some parts were great in fact, but other parts I thought were weak. He quoted a lot of other writers I like, but I think he’s basically a bit to the left of where I am. I dunno. Also not sure about the stars, 3.5 I guess,but I’m rounding up because I found the book readable and blessedly short. ( )

This book focuses on the American higher education system, and the role it plays in the divisiveness of discourse and thought in the current American political and social society. The particular areas of focus for the author are community, identity, and inequality throughout history and as society has progressed. ( )

This was published roughly the same time as Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt's "Coddling of the American Mind" and so comparisons are inevitable. It is worth reading both to put the state of dialectic on American college campuses into better focus, and then decide whether splintering or coddling is the better description, and the better theory for predicting what the current state of college level education and disputation will mean for America.

3.5
The Splintering of the American Mind: Identity Politics, Inequality, and Community on Today's College Campuses by William Egginton concentrates on how higher education contributes to divisiveness or the free exchange of ideas in America. The author considers identity, inequality, and community and how these values have changed in American society over my lifetime.

Egginton argues that identity politics has segregated society and that a sense of community and reasoned conversation must be rediscovered if the American experiment in Democracy is to survive.

His argument calls for a compromise or synthesis between a society dominated by an elite few and the tribal mentality of today. For instance, the traditional 'canon' was dominated by 'dead white men' when I was growing up. There were few women in my textbooks or list of required reading. I felt it immensely. As I reached young adulthood, minorities and women were fighting for representation and power. By the time my son was in college, his English courses included World Literature and books by women instead of the 'classics' I had grown up with.

He promotes a liberal arts education as pivotal to the education of good citizens, in terms of learning to dialogue and reason and communicate. Yet with college education so competitive and expensive, few parents or students can justify the cost of a liberal education. It's all about money, today, preparing for "economic self-improvement" as Egginton puts it. I saw that even back in the 1970s when I completed my education.

"Listening to each other isn't just some surface fix, it's fundamental to the very idea of liberty that the United States claims to embody." William Egginton, The Splintering of the American Mind

The importance of establishing a nationwide sense of community is of tantamount importance. And Egginton believes that begins on the campuses of our colleges and universities. Emphasized is teaching for empathy and dialogue and communication, finding the universal experiences in literature, learning to tolerate differences and supporting freedom of expression, creating an educated citizenry able to employ critical thinking and dialogue. A section of Media Literacy caught my attention as something I had used in my volunteer teaching with high school students. And of course, the importance of a groundwork upon which we can all agree.

I was inspired by his hopefulness.

"Yes, American history is a history of slavery, oppression, and extermination. But it is also a history of redemption, coming to terms with our nation's sins, and of overcoming them on the way to a better future, on the way to, in Abraham Lincoln's words from the blood-soaked battlefield at Gettysburg four score and seven years later, "a new birth of freedom."

"The point is that our history, as full as it is of examples of depravity and corruption, oppression and discrimination, is equally full of stories of altruism and redemption, of the triumph of community over selfishness. These are the stories we need now."

I was not comfortable with all of his interpretations and arguments. I appreciated his consideration of inequality and the call for reestablishing a common ground based on conversation and empathy. My frustration is that the policies presented in these books are not easily or quickly accomplished. These books were challenging reads and I am glad I read them. I am left with the need for something more to hold on to, something concrete that offers me real hope and surety. ( )

I was eager to read Egginton's book as I agree with the basic premise that we have serious problems in our educational system today, and that identity politics is shaping today's students as well as our larger public discourse in ways that are frequently far from positive. However, I found the book to be quite disappointing overall. The author's bias and left-leaning sympathies are clearly evident and detract from his analysis, which he presents as an objective examination of such things as both the benefits and the problems arising from multiculturalism, or the divisiveness that pervades society today. Although he makes some interesting and valid points, his obvious bias against more conservative opinions and failure to present more balance in his arguments make his case less persuasive to me. The writing style is also somewhat inconsistent, often becoming too dense and unwieldy. Nevertheless, there are moments that lead to reflection or an appreciation of the larger idea presented. For example, he states, "The divisiveness that has engulfed our society is predicated on incommunicabiliity...to try to analogize from one group's situation to another's risks engulfing the one making the analogy in a stream of vindictive accusations of intolerance. And yet the curiosity and motivation to understand others is the vital core of our democracy; without it, we are lost" (44-45). Although we might take different approaches, I also agree with his statements toward the end of the book addressing the rage that is building in our society and which threatens our "community" in which he says, "To thrive, to even survive as a nation, America must rebuild its splintered community; we must reach into our past for the ideas and stories with on which to found a common future. To do this, though, we also have to learn to think of ourselves and each other as part of the same project again. We need to learn to think of ourselves as Americans, bound together by our faith in that project" (223). A wonderful sentiment, but one that is marred by the author's failure to see that he is actually making assumptions about many on the opposite side from him, or engaging in unwarranted stereotypes, which actually feed the feelings of division that exist between the two most prominent vocal groups in our society, the liberals and conservatives. ( )