Abstract

American universities have been at the center of the ‘Culture Wars,’ which have amplified broader social trends undermining the authority of academic knowledge. The ‘Culture Wars’ have been a feature of American cultural life for well over a decade. The ‘Culture Wars’ of the USA have been described as a contest for ‘American Civilization’. This struggle has been promoted by right-wing think tanks, and played out for the most part in the national press. One of its constant themes has been an attack on ‘political correctness’ in the academy, which it is claimed has been captured by ‘radicals’. This paper uses the example of Postcolonial Studies to argue that the debates have had the intended consequence of making academics more restrained in their public pronouncements (particularly outside their fields of expertise), and perhaps the unintended effect of amplifying broader social trends undermining the authority of expert knowledge in general, and universities in particular.