Author(s): Frank Furedi

Cultural Studies

The intellectual is an endangered species. In place of such figures as Bertrand Russell, Raymond Williams or Hannah Arendt - people with genuine learning, breadth of vision and a concern for public issues - we now have only facile pundits, think-tank apologists, and spin doctors. In the age of the knowledge economy, we have somehow managed to combine the widest ever participation in higher education with the most dumbed-down of cultures. In this urgent and passionate book, Frank Furedi explains the essential contribution of intellectuals both to culture and to democracy - and why we need to recreate a public sphere in which intellectuals and the general public can talk to each other again. Table of Contents: Introduction: A personal journey through the land of the philistines Chapter 1: Devaluing the Intellect Chapter 2: Trivial Pursuits Chapter 3: Dumbing Down Chapter 4: Social Engineering Chapter 5: The Culture of Flattery Chapter 6: Treating People as Children First published 2004. About the Author: Frank Furedi is Professor in Sociology at the University of Kent.