In case anyone thinks the PC-social-justice-warrior-radicalism thing is new and fresh and original, I present Exhibit A: The History Man (1975), by the British novelist and academic, Malcolm Bradbury.
The setting: a trendy new university built in the 1960s, where even the architecture is a relentlessly ideological dialectic of concrete, glass, and steel, and all is in a state of indignant revolutionary flux. The History Man himself is one Dr. Howard Kirk, a sociologist who likes to make sociologically interesting things happen – that is to say, he’s a devious bastard who manipulates people and events, officially in the name of the Revolution, but mainly because he is a devious bastard.
One of his schemes involves the destruction of a student whose thoughtcrime is to resist being radicalized in Howard’s preferred mode; but even there, Howard has a hidden agenda to do with a bed and the lad’s attractive academic supervisor. His master scheme, however, involves his department’s guest-lecture invitation to an eminent scientist who carries out research into genetics and race. Howard first engineers the invitation by surreptitiously adding the geneticist’s name to the list, and then maneuvers others into organizing a protest against inviting a racist/fascist/sexist to speak on campus. The departmental meeting at which the invitation is discussed is a classic:
…“Can I ask the Chairperson,” says Melissa Todoroff, “if that person is aware that this invitation will be seen by all non-Caucasians and women on this campus as a deliberate insult to their genetic origins?” “This is trouble, man,” says one of the student representatives, “he’s a racist and a sexist.” Professor Marvin looks around in some mystification. “Professor Mangel is to my knowledge neither a racist nor a sexist, but a very well-qualified geneticist,” he says. “However, since we have not invited him here, the question seems scarcely to arise on the agenda.” “In view of the opinion of the chair that Mangel is neither a racist nor a sexist,” says Howard, “would that mean that the Chair would be prepared to invite him to the campus, if his name were proposed?” “It isn’t proposed,” says Marvin. “The point is that Mangel’s work is fascist, and we’ve no business to confirm that by inviting him here,” says Moira Millikin. “I always thought the distinguishing mark of fascism was its refusal to tolerate free inquiry, Dr Millikin,” says Marvin….
The History Man was also possibly the funniest novel of academic manners to be written since Kingsley Amis’s Lucky Jim in 1954. In fact, it is interesting to read the two in tandem. They illustrate pretty well how much the university climate changed between the 50s and the 70s – and how certain aspects have remained unfortunately the same in the four decades since.
