乐播传媒

Give someone an award, and listen to them speak.

Last winter, after Professor of Political Science William Corlett won the College鈥檚 Kroepsch Award for Excellence in Teaching, he visited with me to discuss it. As a tape rolled, Corlett began, in proper academic fashion, by tackling the award鈥檚 definition.

Professor of Political Science William Corlett in his “The Household and Political Theory” classroom. Photograph by Phyllis Graber Jensen

For one, he鈥檇 rather not refer to it as a best-teacher award. That admonition has less to do with ingrained 乐播传媒 modesty 鈥� Corlett has been on the faculty since 1981 鈥� and more with politics. Corlett鈥檚 are far left, a spot on the spectrum easily guessed at by reviewing his course titles, such as 鈥�Reading Marx, Rethinking Marxisms.鈥�

So what鈥檚 the aversion to being labeled 乐播传媒鈥� best? 鈥淚 have a critique of meritocracy,鈥� he explains. You see, meritocracy 鈥� advancement by ability or achievement 鈥� presupposes social agreement of what and who have the merit. Problem is, the power elite get to define merit, says Corlett, and probably also get to ignore sticky issues of race, class, sexuality, and gender. 鈥淭he myth of merit presumes that we share a common ground,鈥� he says, 鈥渨hich neatly sidesteps the need for cross-cultural negotiation.鈥�

So there. With Corlett, the gentle introduction –of political belief in the first sentence of an interview 鈥� and soft-spoken, too, the words wisping from the tape playback 鈥� matches well with how he teaches political theory. He reveals where he stands.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe in being politically neutral in the classroom,鈥� he says, a reference to the spate of recent criticisms, led by David Horowitz, that American college professors at best oppress conservative voices in the classroom, at worse punish students for holding right-wing views.

鈥淭hose who call for neutrality [in the classroom] are actually calling for a time-out from critical thinking,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f you go into any classroom that I know of, you find so much complexity as students try to unpack their own arguments. And they want you to unpack yours. So I teach my students to be critical, never cynical, and to get into the complexity of their own political arguments,鈥� he says.

Corlett in the classroom is not an edutainer, a word that alludes to a 1999 essay by Cornell鈥檚 Glenn Altschuler, who observed that 鈥渢oo many students now choose the pleasurable over the valuable鈥� in how they evaluate professors. Instead, Corlett adopts a 鈥渉umble鈥� demeanor, says Katherine Batchelder 鈥�05, now an academic adviser for Denmark鈥檚 International Studies Program. 鈥淗e fosters community rather than competitive fratricide.鈥�

Corlett鈥檚 skill at ennobling his students 鈥� he calls it 鈥渂uilding a classroom community marked by mutual support and defense鈥� 鈥� captivated the Kroepsch selection committee, said member Denis Sweet, professor of German. 鈥淗e treats his students as scholars,鈥� Sweet says. 鈥淩ather than passive receptors, students were to consider themselves equal to the great minds of Western civilization. This brought out their best.鈥�

High ideals in place, Corlett鈥檚 classroom becomes the right room for political argument (yes, he sometimes quotes the Monty Python line), where he avoids 鈥減laying to the chilling effect of conservatism or political correctness or whatever term people are using at the time. I let students know what my own argument is, why I hold the views that I have, why I have changed my mind, and why I haven鈥檛.鈥�

Like many of his fellow Baby Boomers, Corlett changed his mind during the Vietnam War years. He grew up in Pennsylvania, was student government president at Cedar Cliff High School, Class of 鈥�68, pledged a fraternity at Allegheny College, and interned with conservative Republican senator Hugh Scott Jr. 鈥淭hat was a very uncritical time in my political life,鈥� Corlett says. 鈥淚n my conservative views, I was simply imitating my father.鈥�

Then came 1970 and Nixon鈥檚 invasion of Cambodia and the Kent State shootings. Corlett discovered political theory and began experimenting with language. 鈥淭he combination produced a commitment to anarchism in my senior year, on which I wrote my thesis,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 my experience of moving from uncritical to critical.鈥� Corlett earned his master鈥檚 and Ph.D. at Pittsburgh, and has聽published Community without Unity: A Politics of Derridian Extravagance (Duke University Press, 1989, 1993) and Class Action: Reading Labor, Theory, and Value (Cornell University Press, 1998).

His intellectual awakening complete, Corlett rejected his father鈥檚 politics and renounced his values. Well, not really. Becoming critically aware isn鈥檛 so tidy. 鈥淢y father voted for Nixon twice, and remains a rather conservative person. We still have very interesting political and religious conversations,鈥� says Corlett. Now 84, the elder William Corlett is a retired forester for the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry. 鈥淗e also served on the town council, was very committed to shade-tree initiatives and urban forestry, and is one of the most generous people I know.鈥�

A few years ago, campus libertarian Whitman Holt 鈥�02 broached a paper topic for Corlett鈥檚 course 鈥淐ontemporary Liberalism and Democratic Action.鈥� 鈥淲hitman was interested in the idea of conservative people being at least as generous in their personal lives as people who have liberal politics. And I thought of my father 鈥� he tithes, he gives blood, and he is very active in his church and lodge and community. I have sometimes wondered if I鈥檓 more progressive, in my mind, politically, and less generous with my personal life than my own father.鈥�

Holt鈥檚 paper ultimately described a society in which a libertarian sense of 鈥渟upererogatory duty鈥� would yield enough private charitable support for society鈥檚 less fortunate. 鈥淎lthough Bill and I hold very different beliefs, he encouraged me to fully develop and articulate my position,鈥� says Holt, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate who earned his J.D. from Harvard and is now an attorney with the Los Angeles firm Stutman, Treister & Glatt. 鈥淭he focus was on developing my analytic abilities.鈥�

So, if we鈥檝e now defined good teaching in the words of his students, and defined critical thinking through Corlett鈥檚 own story, how does Corlett himself ultimately define the award?

鈥淚 like to think of it as a gift,鈥� he says. 鈥淭eaching is always about community-building, and I think effective community building teaches both students and teachers about gift-giving and generosity of spirit. I always enjoy the students and enjoy giving extra time to them. But I am only now becoming comfortable with the idea that they have passed a gift back to me. The spirit of this award, I think, is about teachers receiving gifts back from their students.鈥�