Ted Morgan wants to get his "fellow academics... out of the halls of academia enough to play an active political role in their communities and the greater polity." This repeats the ancient left myth that they couldn't possibly play an active poltical role by defining academia as their community (see e.g pro-Nader statement by academics, intellectuals, writers and artists at www.punj.edu~newpol ; and note that the contemporary right is, to its advantage, hardly contemptuous of academic conservatism). Somehow we never think that workers playing an active role, say, in their plants aren't where it's at, should go elsewhere, etc. See my 1968 "Who Will Write a Left History of Art While We Are all Putting our Balls on the Line?" reprinted in Journal of American History, September 1989. Maybe Morgan is talking about post-structuralism, which is fading fast as new movements put us back in touch with reality, causality, truth, etc.
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