Culture Wars

Topic:

materials

The popular media tells us that there are culture wars being fought online and in universities. As you might expect, many of the topics we hae discussed in Culture Club are characterised as being fought over in these culture wars. What do people understand by the idea of culture wars, their origins, and whether they have a place in productive discourse?

The UK’s Culture War On Social Media And Beyond – BBC Newsnight
Everything You Wanted to Know About the Culture Wars – But Were Afraid to Ask – Andrew Anthony, The Guardian [article, 15 mins]
Things Fell Apart – 1. 1000 dolls – Jon Ronson on the origins of the abortion debate [podcast, 32 mins]
Trump Is Incidental to the Culture War – Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review
The Rest is History – 46. Culture Wars – Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss culture wars throughout history [podcast, 55 mins]
- History enthusiasts, listen from beginning to end.
- For discussion on the Christian vs secular origins, listen from minute 20.
- For discussion on the roles of university and education, listen from minute 47.

Facilitation Notes

Discussion Questions

What makes a culture war different from other forms of disagreement?
Is it ever useful to use the term “culture war”?
Are the issues fought over in the culture wars inevitable sources of conflict?
Is technology responsible for the number of culture wars we are aware of? (See the end of the Guardian article)

Resource Personalisation

You could include materials on “culture wars” within your own university or department, and how that has (or hasn’t) been discussed.

Topic:

Culture Wars

materials

Facilitation Notes

Culture Club.