Inventing the egghead the battle over brainpower in american culture

If i told you that one of the central contributions made by aaron leckliders wonderful inventing the egghead. Lecklider, a professor of american studies at the university of massachusettsboston, is the author of inventing the egghead. The shame of defeat was one piece of the elections humiliation. Aaron lecklider throughout the twentieth century, popular songs, magazine articles, plays, posters, and novels alternated between representing intelligence as empowering and as. Richard hofstadters antiintellectualism in american life 1963, which traced a tradition of animosity to intellect in religion, business, politics, and education, is the primary foil for this book. Neither as broad in historical scope as antiintellectualism in american life nor as trenchant as asimovs zinger, aaron leckliders inventing the egghead. In going through the personal letters and journals of williams, castellani discovered there was a gap in journal entries from the end of july until. Alongside the emergence of the egghead there were, as gitlin correctly demonstrates, many competing representations. Chris castellanis latest novel, leading men, about.

Chris castellani reading from leading men to a full house, including the author who introduced him, aaron lecklider, who wrote inventing the egghead. In inventing the egghead, aaron lecklider cracks open this paradox by examining representations of intelligence to reveal brainpower s stalwart appeal and influence. The battle over brainpower in american culture 20 excerpt and text search rubin, j. Aaron lecklider is a professor of american studies at the university of massachusetts boston and author of inventing the egghead. A concluding chapter dissects the meanings of the egghead in the 1950s. The battle over brainpower in american culture, the cultural historian aaron lecklider explores how americans who were not part of the traditional intellectual class negotiated the complicated politics of intelligence within an accelerating mass culture. The paradoxes of brainpower in cold war american culture volume 45 issue 2 aaron s. Reading across historical, literary, and visual media, lecklider mines popular culture as an arena where the brainpower of ordinary people was commonly invoked and frequently contested. Inventing the egghead the battle over brainpower in american. The aha was founded in 1884 and chartered by congress in 1889 to serve the interests of the entire discipline of history. Home browse books book details, inventing the egghead. Reaction against his comment was been vigorous and immediate, precipitating a backlash against those lowinformation voters whose ignorance has been presumed as a prerequisite for selecting a bombastic candidate like trump. In inventing the egghead, cultural historian aaron lecklider explores ideas of.

The battle over brainpower in american culture hardcover. Aaron lecklider throughout the twentieth century, pop songs, magazine articles, plays, posters, and novels in the united states represented intelligence alternately as empowering or threatening. The battle over brainpower in american culture aaron lecklider is a professor of american studies at the university of massachusetts boston and author of inventing the egghead. Throughout the twentieth century, pop songs, magazine articles, plays, posters, and novels in the west have represented intelligence alternately as empowering or threatening. The battle over brainpower in american culture, journal of american history, volume 100, issue 4, march 2014. The battle over brainpower in american culture, inventing the egghead, aaron lecklider, university of pennsylvania press. Read inventing the egghead the battle over brainpower in american culture by aaron lecklider available from rakuten kobo. The battle over brainpower in american culture, conservatives often identified adlai stevenson, democratic presidential candidate in.

Lecklider, aaron inventing the egghead the battle over brainpower in american culture. Class, the routledge history of american sexuality routledge, 2020. The culture war was fought with the bluntest of weapons not between the intelligentsia and the ignorati, but between antiintellectuals and anti. Popular culture, lecklider writes, has been for the last century a critical site in. The battle over brainpower in american culture u of pennsylvania press, 20 lies in its disagreement with another scholarly work published 50 years prior, you might think that for those who are not themselves scholars of americanstudies or history, anyway things are getting a. Lee inventing the egghead the battle over brainpower in american culture por aaron lecklider disponible en rakuten kobo. Moreover, brainpower was democratictransmittable through the. Central to the book is the concept of brainpowera term used by lecklider to capture the ways in which journalists, writers, artists, and others invoked intelligence to embolden the majority of americans who did not have access to institutions of higher learning. Inventing the egghead the battle over brainpower in. The battle over brainpower in american culture university of pennsylvania press, 20. The battle over brainpower in american culture for the summer 2015 edition of journalism history. Bushs presidential election in 2000 left american liberals dumbstruck. Literary cultures and homosexuality in the 1940s, in american literature in transition, 19401950, ed. Inventing the egghead aaron lecklider university of pennsylvania.

Aaron lecklider, who teaches american studies at the university of massachusetts, boston, proposes to stand the last century of american intellectual life on its head, or at least on its side. While america had championed itself as the place of intellectual and economic booms, great swaths of the population remained rural, uneducated, and skeptical of book learning, favoring instead folk wisdom or the popularly labelled common sense. Inventing the egghead by aaron lecklider overdrive. Join the american studies department and celebrate the publication of assistant professor of american studies aaron leckliders first book inventing the egghead.

The term egghead has mostly been retired to the hall of lost insults, hung up. Inventing the egghead the battle over brainpower in american culture aaron lecklider. Feb 26, 2017 donald trump has once again ignited a firestorm of criticism. Apr 19, 2019 chris castellani reading from leading men to a full house, including the author who introduced him, aaron lecklider, who wrote inventing the egghead. Expressions of brainpower in the twentieth century engendered an uncomfortable paradox. Reaction against his comment was been vigorous and immediate, precipitating a backlash against those lowinformation voters whose ignorance has been presumed as a prerequisite for selecting a bombastic candidate like. Inventing the egghead by aaron lecklider overdrive rakuten. Donald trump has once again ignited a firestorm of criticism. Aaron lecklider university of massachusetts boston. Dec 11, 20 neither as broad in historical scope as antiintellectualism in american life nor as trenchant as asimovs zinger, aaron leckliders inventing the egghead. Ranging across bits and pieces of popular culture from the first half of the. In inventing the egghead, cultural historian aaron lecklider offers a sharp, entertaining narrative of these sources to reveal how americans who were not part of the traditional intellectual class negotiated the complicated politics of intelligence within an accelerating mass culture. Narrates how americans who were not part of the traditional intellectual class negotiated the complicated politics of intelligence within an accelerating mass culture.

Following his victory in nevada, the republican frontrunner announced, i love the poorly educated. Inventing the egghead ebook by aaron lecklider rakuten kobo. Many readers will enjoy this book, especially those interested in american history and culture, science and technology, or issues of social class, writes jennifer miller. Feb 18, 20 this book is an overview of the contradictory history of the perception of intellectuals, professionals, and academics in american culture. Inventing the egghead the battle over brainpower in american culture. The battle over brainpower in american culture, the cultural historian aaron lecklider explores how americans who. The battle over brainpower in american culture throughout the twentieth century, pop songs, magazine articles, plays, posters, and novels in the west have represented intelligence alternately as empowering or threatening. The battle over brainpower in american culture 20, aaron lecklider indicated that the contemporary ideological dismissal of the intelligentsia derived from the corporate medias reactionary misrepresentations of intellectual men and women as lacking the commonsense of regular folk. Throughout the twentieth century, pop songs, magazine articles, plays, posters, and novels in the united states represen. The battle over brainpower in american culture university of pennsylvania press, 286pp. Popular culture, lecklider writes, has been for the last century a critical site in shaping american ideas about brainpower p. As aaron lecklider makes clear in inventing the egghead.

Americas intellectuals, organic and traditional, seen. The battle over brainpower in american culture university of philadelphia press, 20. Inventing the egghead, by aaron lecklider, makes two major, and one minor, arguments. Online university of the left archive for education. The journal is published four times a year by the e. The egghead is not the protagonist of leckliders monograph, despite the books title and humorous cover art. The paradoxes of brainpower in cold war american culture article in journal of american studies 4502.

Focusing on the period since 1900, aaron lecklider offers a series of case studies that seeks to establish the respect for intellectual activity. The battle over brainpower in american culture by aaron s. The battle over brainpower in american culture university of pennsylvania press is explicitly framed as a response to another decade the 00s. Ranging across popular culture from coney island and tin pan alley to wpa posters and science fiction, aaron leckliders lively and astute exploration of twentiethcentury. Oct 10, 2014 if i told you that one of the central contributions made by aaron leckliders wonderful inventing the egghead. Read the fulltext online edition of inventing the egghead. This book is an overview of the contradictory history of the perception of intellectuals, professionals, and academics in american culture. In inventing the egghead, cultural historian aaron lecklider offers a sharp, entertaining narrative of these sources to reveal how americans who were not part of. Apr 10, 20 join the american studies department and celebrate the publication of assistant professor of american studies aaron leckliders first book inventing the egghead. As aaron leckliders surprising history inventing the egghead shows, the figure of the unworldly and fragile genius showed up across postwar popular culture, in comic pop songs, science fiction. Throughout the twentieth century, pop songs, magazine articles, plays, posters, and novels in the west have represented intelligence alternately as empowering or. Throughout the twentieth century, popular songs, magazine articles, plays, posters, and novels alternated between representing intelligence as empowering and as threatening.