 First edition | |
| Author | Richard Hofstadter |
|---|---|
| Subject | Intellectualism |
| Publisher | Knopf |
Publication date | 1963 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 434 |
| Awards | Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction (1964) |
| OCLC | 268837 |
Anti-intellectualism in American Life is a book byRichard Hofstadter published in 1963 that won the1964 Pulitzer Prize forGeneral Nonfiction.[1][2]
In this book, Hofstadter set out to trace thesocial movements that altered the role of intellect inAmerican society.[3] In so doing, he explored questions regarding the purpose of education and whether thedemocratization of education altered that purpose and reshaped its form.[4]
In considering the historic tension between access to education and excellence in education, Hofstadter argued that bothanti-intellectualism andutilitarianism were in part consequences of thedemocratization of knowledge. Moreover, he saw these themes as historically embedded in America's national fabric, resulting from itscolonial andevangelical Protestant heritage. He contended thatevangelical American Protestantism's anti-intellectual tradition valued the spirit overintellectual rigor.[5]
Hofstadter described anti-intellectualism as "resentment of the life of the mind, and those who are considered to represent it; and a disposition to constantly minimize the value of that life."[6] He further described the term as a view that "intellectuals...are pretentious, conceited... and snobbish; and very likely immoral, dangerous, and subversive ... The plain sense of the common man is an altogether adequate substitute for, if not actually much superior to, formal knowledge and expertise."[7]
