This post is a reflection on Francis Fukuyama's new book, Liberalism and Its Discontents. The book provides the best and clearest discussion I've seen about the power and appeal of liberalism and the nature of the negative reactions it has been generating, especially in recent years. Attacked from both left and right, threatened by populist … Continue reading Francis Fukuyama — Liberalism and Its Discontents
This piece was published in Inside Higher Ed in June, 2020. Here’s a link to the original. It speaks for itself. Doctoral Dysfunction Many doctoral students today are tending to fall into one of two disturbing categories: academic technician or justice warrior, writes David F. Labaree. David F. Labaree June 18, 2020 After nearly 40 years as a … Continue reading Doctoral Dysfunction — We’re Creating Too Many Academic Technicians and Justice Warriors
This post is an op-ed by Jack Schneider and Jennifer Berkshire recently published in the Washington Post. Here's a link to the original. They're responding to the efforts by parents and by Republican legislators to give parents veto power over what they're children are taught in public schools. Schneider and Berkshire argue that American law … Continue reading Jack Schneider and Jennifer Berkshire — Parents Don’t Have the Right to Shape their Kids’ School Curriculum
This post is a tribute to a seminal essay by David Cohen and Barbara Neufeld, which was published in Daedalus in 1981. Here's a link to a PDF of the original. It's a piece of writing that had a major impact on my own work (e.g., here and here) and I have assigned it frequently … Continue reading Cohen and Neufeld: The Failure of High Schools and the Progress of Education
This post is an essay by political scientist Francis Fukuyama about the challenges facing liberal democracy today from populisms of the left and right. The original appeared in the on-line journal, American Purpose, which he helped found. A large number of essays have emerged in recent years worrying about the future of liberal democracy, but … Continue reading Francis Fukuyama: Liberalism and Its Discontents
This post is a brilliant essay by Francis Fukuyama, "Liberalism and Its Discontents." In it, he explores the problems facing liberal democracy today. As always, it is threatened by autocratic regimes around the world. But what's new since the fall of the Soviet Union is the threat from illiberal democracy, both at home and abroad, … Continue reading Fukuyama — Liberalism and Its Discontents
David Labaree on Schooling, History, and Writing 