A new book of essays, Cary Nelson and the Struggle for the University (SUNY, 2009), celebrates the current president of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). The book’s cover says, “This collection brings together distinguished and rising cultural studies scholars to explore the ways in which Cary Nelson’s work unites scholarship and activism, demonstrating the need for radical engagement in order to democratize the academy and the production of knowledge in and about American culture.”
Question: is that an ordinary book blurb or a mission statement for politicizing the university?