Essays on Intellectualism

Virginia Woolf and

Virginia Woolf undoubtedly stands as a titan in the early era of gender progress. She not only spoke of the virtues of a woman’s mind, independence, and the contribution women can make, but she wrote it into her characters. The irony lies in her inability to embrace her own ideas. Virginia Woolf believed in women’s rights and surrounded herself with like-minded people. Even when she lived in a world that did not agree with her ideas about gender equality, she took it upon herself to be herself. She believed in her right to speak and be heard ...

during Times of Uncertainty during Times of Uncertainty

Introduction:

Times of uncertainty lead the public to seek both leadership and answers. They need answers, and ways to organize around issues of social significance which have created doubt, and indecision. In essence, they need help understanding the issue at hand and being offered an acceptable frame of reference when they, themselves, do not have the experience to come up with constructive solutions. Often this leadership comes out of the academic community. As such, the purpose of the current essay is to determine in what ways academics can contribute on issues of ...

Angela Locke’s essay “Born Poor and Smart” offers a pointed critique of social stratification and the cultural divides between rich and poor that maintain these systemic inequalities. Detailing her poor childhood and the long, arduous road she took to becoming financially solvent, Locke offers a laconic, straightforward essay that speaks truth to power while also demonstrating the problems the poor have in being able to uplift themselves out of poverty. While Locke misses a few fundamental differences between the rich and the poor in her logic, “Born Poor and Smart” offers a significant sense of ethos and pathos ...

2016/3/26

The Meaning Behind Grade Inflation Academic grades of student have gained a critical rank in the prediction of the student level of achievement and hence the efficiency of the academic process within educational institutions. For example, The “B-Minus Reigns Supreme” is a 2008 article by Laurie Fendrich on grade inflation in institutions of higher learning. It shows an increasing over-emphasis on the importance of scoring a “B” and the expense of equally good “C” grades. Rampant grade inflation has been witnessed at all levels of educational institutions since the 1960s. Grade inflation presents challenges at the less elite educational ...

Analysis Essay of “Hidden Intellectualism” by Gerald Graff

Gerald Graff in his essay “Hidden Intellectualism” explores the gap between the popular young and academic cultures that are often assumed as conflicting in the school environment and persuades his audience that actually these two domains can be effectively combined, as both represent a certain kind of intellectualism. The author argues that “street smarts” are hidden intellectuals, who do not recognize their own argumentative powers, and teachers in the school environment should encourage incorporation of popular culture into curriculum, as he believes that it may improve students’ performance, spur their interest in the academic research and stimulate young people ...

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 features a dystopian future wherein “firemen” are given the task of burning subversive books that challenge the governmental establishment. In this world, reading is outlawed, as the current mode of thinking is anti-intellectual, and bereft of learning or knowledge. The protagonist, Guy Montag, one of the firemen, has his ideas about his job and the world in which he lives in challenged by an intellectual love interest. In the novel Logan’s Run, another dystopian future sees the protagonist, a law enforcement officer called a Sandman, tracking down those who do not voluntarily kill themselves at age ...

3 April,2011

Question one

Gerald Graff believes that apart from the intellect gained in classroom, there are other kinds of intellect that is not academic in nature. Graff argues that a person doesn’t need to sit in a formal class environment to be regarded as an intellectual. He says that debating on such issue that are not academic such as fashion, sports or pop star requires almost the same level of intellectual ability as discourses in academic fields. Graff’s argument looks convincing indeed. He narrates his own success story. How he rose to an intellectual from a street smart. He ...