Who Killed Homer by Victor Davis Hanson and John Heath - Book Report/Review Example

 Who Killed Homer? by Victor Davis Hanson and John Heath ‘Who Killed Homer?’ by Victor Davis Hanson and John Heath is a book on classical education which serves as a strong support of Greek and Roman practices of education and their tradition, and which were in fact the distinctive characteristics of the Western civilization. The book enlightens us as to why the Classical education was supposed to the trademark of the most genius and educated people over the past centuries. Classical education is a method that has various interpretations, but the main focus is on the establishment and refinement of wisdom and virtue by nurturing the soul through seven liberal arts and four sciences. The academic curriculum comprises of writing, reading, mathematics and learning of classical languages such as Latin & Greek, as well as focusing the mental abilities on logical thinking that enables a student to develop sufficiently well abilities in the most fundamental subjects in the early years of education which later serve as developing the critical thinking and logical reasoning skills at the higher stages of education. This classical education was the hallmark of Greeks which allowed them to become adept at the most rare and demanding skills in the world and to lead the world in this field. Our own culture derives from the ancient Greek civilization, so these are the founding blocks of our modern civilization and our true identity. The writers, Victor Davis Hanson and John Heath argue that the knowledge of Greeks is very essential for us, for if we lose this knowledge we lose our understanding of the self. This is a highly critical book with many straightforward lessons and recommendation, and informative reading lists that shed light on the Classics and the beauty and perils of our modern culture. The seemingly appears to be focused on the critical evaluation of the issues of rejection of the Classics as a subject of study in American universities, but the book really is about the worth, the consequences and the effects of losing one essential and valuable course in the present-day education and modern culture. The authors also try to present to us how we might still endeavor and save the Classics and Greeks for the future generation. The main concern throughout the book remains on the failure of today’s Classicists (who according to authors are the main reason of lacking behind in Classics and Greek ideology), due to which the study of the origins of Western Civilization has vanished from the American colleges even when it is most needed to guide the people and to develop an attitude geared towards humanistic values and devotion to human welfare. Homer was an ancient Greek epic poet who is believed to have written the Iliad and the Odyssey (circa 850 BC). The writers of the book have used his name as a synonym for what they believe to be the “Greek Wisdom” - a commitment to "open inquiry, self-criticism, anti-aristocratic thought, free expression and commerce, and . . . disinterested reason and science, immune from the edicts of general, priest, and king" (p. 79). As evident form the name itself the authors have argued that Homer is dead, today’s classical scholars have killed him and as a result there’s a huge loss for the American education and today’s lifestyle. The classical studies comprise of the glorious period form the Homer up to the fall of Roman Empire. The authors have urged us to renovate the classics as they were traditionally taught and they have used the term resurrecting Homer for this throughout the book. The authors, Hanson and Heath, have put forward their point in four ways: Firstly they have attacked and criticized the current method of teaching including the current state of Classics; secondly, they blame the today’s classicists themselves for the downfall of this field, particularly the ones who are called “the politically correct”; then as a next step they tell us that the Greeks were great and that is why despite several efforts to bring them (and their ideas) down, the Greek legacy continues and must be acknowledged by us as such; and finally they recommend several strategies for reviving the Classics in the American Universities and their current system. Authors have made an analysis according to which; until sixties, they assert, the Classical studies have strengthened the most humanitarian and moral values, including honesty and political responsibility, in the western tradition. However, now the worst of the western values i.e. “greedy materialism” has completely destroyed the classical education. The classicists themselves have “killed Homer” by allowing the personal goals and ambitions to be ahead of the professional dedication to education and teaching. Multiculturalism and continental theories have tainted the Classical discipline. Scholars of today are more concerned about attending meetings, conferences and succeeding at publication than attending to the course and students’ needs and intellectual development. These modern and continental theories help the scholars go forward professionally without contributing to the students. The most purported targets of the book are those Classicists engaged in feminist studies, depth psychology, deconstruction and rhetorical studies. According to authors, they keep doing efforts to criticize and mystify the ancientness of Greek and Roman, which have turned them into the “traitors” for the cause of classical education in modern era (pp. 82). Once we have gone through the many pages of neocon slogans that surround this book, we come to realize that the recent trends in Classics is not actually the real and the only cause for the dissatisfaction and complaint of the authors; but the book is actually the result of authors’ conclusion that the Greek play only a slight role in the contemporary American culture. There is this fear resulting from the awareness of the danger and most classicist respond to this situation as: "television, corporations, videos, the economy did it to us… Yet these are but the age-old wages of Classics: those who study the ancient world have always borne the burden of demonstrating to the living the importance and relevance of the long-ago dead... But the academy has for three decades now offered no response to the usual challenges" (pp. 6). The truth is that in today’s world we allow our students to be lazy and hang loosely at the conferences, rejoice in an overwhelming amount of researches that are often undecipherable and over-emphasized. All this is against the general interest of public and social well-being. Many of the scholars even try to make exaggerated and unnecessarily comical representations such as "Plato lecturer [who] ditches forty students to fly 2,000 miles to pontificate to twenty on ethics, in preparation for writing for forty" (p. 220). Hence, according to authors the scholars today are busy and infected by their professional lives and greedy careerism. Although, authors have made their point, but here I would like to add that they fail to realize that many scholars find researches and studies very helpful and enriching to their subjects; according to many scholars these activities are necessary to keep our brains alive and working. So researches are also believed by many to contribute to their professional and pedagogical careers; hence w may conclude that they are also necessary for the teaching profession. Here the relation between the teaching and research drawn by the authors is arguable, because it reflects the courses that endanger the energetic style of intellectual culture. Literature, art, philosophies and the internal values of the Classics have been a part of education for more than two thousand years in the West. It’s the ancient Greek traditions that explain why Western Culture is amazingly unique and dynamic and the concepts of democracy, personal freedom, civil liberty, and government as laid down by the Greeks are now taking over the entire world as they are acceptable worldwide. Thrilling dissimilarities between the world at large and the American Philological Association’s annual convention has been drawn where lots of hundreds of unemployed Ph.D.’s scramble. Hanson and Heath have given a lot of accurate and precise details about the “Greek wisdom” and its influence on the Western mind and soul. This is very informative and knowledgeable and a must read. Besides this, the final chapter describes how to reformulate the academic curriculum by integrating the Greek dynamics and Classics. This chapter is really an eye opener. Some of the strategies for reviving the Classic disciplines of studies on the American academic system in its core include the tracking of students who are not suited for higher education to the trade school (pp. 211), and the focus on the wisdom of Greeks which according to the authors, “alone inaugurates the Western experience" (pp. 88). Overall, the authors’ defense of the hidebound traditionalist approach to the Classics is worthy of reading. The field of politics needs to be lowered down in order to guarantee life rather than being involved in the complexities of good life, the educational institutions should not be seen as schools but rather as the institution for ensuring the civil and social order and prosperity, and to enlighten the key elements of the classical political theory that have been abandoned. As for the problems with this text, I have explained some in the above paragraphs, and the book also does not provide any reference to the benefit of teaching Iliad in the modern world American universities and colleges. It is also important to recognize the challenges faces by a modern man living in the modern world and society and decide accordingly. The book also emphasizes many important points and sheds light on many issues that we need to think about. Authors have provided us broad approaches of bringing back the declining world of Classical education. These suggestions have not yet been applied in the field of teaching but are really noteworthy and we need to think about it. We should not are about the certifications, merits, and honors more than the personal intellect, competency and efficiency. Despite of attending conferences for personal benefits and greedy careerism we should try to make ourselves perfect in our field and try to foster an environment where everybody can learn the right way. Finally, instead of living in the shade of uncritical satisfaction and complacency that we have the best standards of practice, we should try to critically question ourselves about our system in order to keep evolving and developing our people. The book has a lot to promote thought and reflect on the Classical education and is a must read for those readers who are interested in Classics and those who believe that the knowledge of Classics enlightens us with the beauty and perils of our modern culture. Works Cited Hanson, Victor, and John Heath. Who Killed Homer: The Demise of Classical Education and the Recovery of Greek Wisdom. ReadHowYouWant, 1998. Print. Read More