Jane Austen Education

What Hacker News says

1. jseligerNov 2015
   I've taught at two colleges and based on my (purely) anecdotal experiences and attention to the climate, I'd say that the number of students and faculty interested in stifling or censoring ideas is small but also very, very noisy. They also have no sense of humor and college administrators as a group have no sense of humor or perspective, and they're chronically worried about accusations of indifference or insensitivity (which are themselves as good as convictions). There is a strong economic and career incentive for administrators to take everything seriously and to keep their heads down as much as possible.

   Brew this up and one gets a majority of students who are reasonable but a small minority who drive all the discourse.

   I don't teach at Yale and have never taught at Yale or schools with similar cultures, so I can't speak to the environment there, but William Deresiewicz did, and his book Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life came out of that and I recommend it. His book A Jane Austen Education (http://jakeseliger.com/tag/a-jane-austen-education-how-six-n...) is also very good, even for someone like me who does not love Jane Austen.

   Edit: Also, almost all of the censorship calls and nasty behavior / comments came from students on the left. Vox's "I'm a liberal professor, and my liberal students terrify me" (http://www.vox.com/2015/6/3/8706323/college-professor-afraid) is congruent with my experiences.

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2. asharkNov 2015
   > His book A Jane Austen Education is also very good, even for someone like me who does not love Jane Austen.

   Off topic, but you might try Persuasion if you haven't. I've attempted the others but been unable to get past the all-caps-bold-with-flashing-lights SMUG plastered over every page, save for in Emma, which was an excellent first 2/3 of a tragedy ruined by the last 1/3 in which it... isn't a tragedy. Persuasion, though, is snappy and enjoyable, IMO.

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3. losvedirAug 2012
   This is a great article which I reread occasionally so I'm happy to see it posted to HN. That said, the one thing that always bothers me about is I don't really know the leadership credentials of the author. His blurb at the bottom says:

   > "William Deresiewicz is an essayist and critic. His book, A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter, was published in April."

   and Wikipedia doesn't offer much in addition.

   The advice seems reasonable, but I'm not sure if it's actually true. Have any respected leaders agreed with it? I know this talk was given at West Point, so it seems like that's an affirmation of its value, but does that mean it was read ahead of time and that's why he was brought in? What does Deresiewicz know about leadership?

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