Western Civilization is a Construct

 

                         Western Civilization is a Construct

Dan-el Padilla Peralta, a classics prof. at Princeton, is probably one of the people driving the self-demolition of their classics department. At the annual meeting for classics (in San Diego) a few years ago he admitted that he would like to see classics “die as swiftly as possible” if it becomes (again) a field that promotes “western civilization.” Ending the language requirement is part of their plan to erase the “white supremacy” (Peralta’s phrase) in classics. But the ultimate goal is to destroy the discipline entirely, since it is irredeemable. Peralta has written,

“Why not invest (say) in an Afro-pessimistic critique that, in recognizing the inescapability of white supremacy in the discipline’s phylogeny and ontogeny, kept all options for reparative intellectual justice — including the demolition of the discipline itself — on the table?”

The University of Vermont just decided to eliminate its classics department. The demolition continues.