The southern front : history and politics in the cultural war

Marxist historian Eugene Genovese has had a profound influence on the fields of Southern history and black studies and has made a significant contribution to intellectual exchange. In this book, Genovese offers a series of engaging and highly provocative reflections on history--particularly Southern history--and politics in the cultural war. Eugene D. Genovese Offers A Series Of Engaging And Highly Provocative Reflections On History - Particularly Southern History - And Politics In The Cultural War. Genovese Criticizes The Left And The Right With Equal Vigor. Calling Political Correctness A New Version Of Totalitarianism, He Scorns The Betrayal Of Black Studies Programs Across The Country, Saying That Unless The Stagnation And Ghettoization Of Black Studies Programs Are Arrested, We Shall, However Inadvertently, Condemn Our Universities And Professions To Many Years Of Shamefaced Complicity In An Increasingly Ominous Resurgence Of White Racism And Black Despair. Other Essays Explore The Political Culture Of The Old South And The Centrality Of Religion To Both Southern And Afro-american History. Of Particular Interest Is An Extended Treatment Of The Religious Thought Of Martin Luther King, Jr., And The King Plagiarism Scandal. In The Question, A Searing Essay That Has Already Provoked Heated Debate, Genovese Argues That A Commitment To Presumed Larger Goals Led The Radical Left To Ignore, And Therefore Become Complicit In, The Mass Murders Of Communism. And He Suggests That Today A Similar Blindness Is Fostering The Promotion Of Totalitarian Measures On Our Campuses. We Are Today Indeed Engaged In A Cultural War, Writes Genovese. To Win That War Will Require A New And Hitherto Unimaginable Coalition Across Political And Racial Lines. In Lieu Of An Introduction: Personal Reflections. 1. Marxism, Christianity, And Bias In The Study Of Southern Slave Society. 2. Hans Rosenberg At Brooklyn College: A Communist Student's Recollections Of The Classroom As War Zone -- Representative Carolinians. 3. James Johnston Pettigrew. 4. James Henley Thornwell. 5. Thomas B. Chaplin -- Southern Slave Society. 6. The Culture Of The Old South / Eugene D. Genovese And Elizabeth Fox-genovese. 7. Proslavery In Transatlantic Conservative Thought. 8. Higher Education In The Defense Of Slave Society. 9. The Poet As Social Critic. 10. The Slaveholders' Contribution To The American Constitution -- Religion. 11. Christendom Under Siege. 12. Religious Foundations Of The Constitution. 13. Abolitionism's Black Prophets. 14. The Theology Of Martin Luther King, Jr., And Its Political Implications. 15. Does God Matter? -- Culture And Politics. 16. Herbert Aptheker. 17. Black Studies: Academic Discipline And Political Struggle. Eugene D. Genovese. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 303-307) And Index. Contents Preface In Lieu of an Introduction: Personal Reflections 1 Marxism, Christianity, and Bias in the Study of Southern Slave Society 2 Hans Rosenberg at Brooklyn College Representative Carolinians 3 James Johnston Pettigrew 4 James Henley Thornwell 5 Thomas B. Chaplin Southern Slave Society 6 The Culture of the Old South 7 Proslavery in Transatlantic Conservative Thought 8 Higher Education in the Defense of Slave Society 9 The Poet as Social Critic 10 The Slaveholders' Contribution to the American Constitution Religion 11 Christendom under Siege 12 Religious Foundations of the Constitution 13 Abolitionism's Black Prophets 14 The Theology of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Its Political Implications 15 Does God Matter? Culture and Politics 16 Herbert Aptheker 17 Black Studies 18 Eugene Rivers's Challenge 19 John Shelton Reed 20 The Voice of Southern Conservatism 21 Southern Conservatism at the Political Crossroads 22 The Southern Tradition and the Black Experience Epilogue 23 The Question Bibliographical Notes Index In this text, Marxist historian Eugene Genovese presents a series of reflections on history and politics in the cultural war. There are essays attacking political correctness as "a new version of totalitarianism" and which explore the centrality of religion to Southern and Afro-American history.