Des coups de canons dans le vide ? La civilisation occidentale dans les universités américaines - article ; n°1 ; vol.43, pg 4-17

Vingtième Siècle. Revue d'histoire - Année 1994 - Volume 43 - Numéro 1 - Pages 4-17
Aimless canon shots Western civilization in American universities, Denis Lacorne.
The crisis of the American university, frequently denounced in the late 1980s, was supposed to be linked to the new pedagogical practices of the modernists and the traditionalists. The former were said to be attempting to wean students from their western roots in the name of a proper multiculturalism; the latter advocated recourse to western tradition's great classics. Loudly denounced by the media, the opposition between modernists and traditionalists is highly exaggerated. Precise examples show that reference to the western canon keeps its predominant place in spite of the pressure of multicultural militants. But it is true that a new discourse is forming, based on the comparison of knowledge of remote cultures and the contribution of modem anthropology. Well handled, this discourse should enrich civilization programs.
14 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.