This morning I read a post on The American Scholar’s blog called “Start a Blog.” In it, writer William Deresiewicz discusses the role of the public intellectual. His jumping off point is his reading of a book that encourages high school students to skip college and become a “Public Intellectual.” There are five easy steps to follow in order to achieve this lofty goal and one of them is “Start a blog.” Deresiewicz claims that now the “debasement of the term public intellectual—and it was pretty debased to begin with—would seem to be complete.”
(a tiny picture of William Deresiewicz)
I agree that starting a blog does not make one a public intellectual. Nor does following whatever the other four “easy” steps are. I agree with much of what Deresiewicz claims. But now I’m thinking, (more…)
From the Hatchery 