Anthony Esolen, the noted author and literature scholar, is under
heavy pressure at Providence College because of his outspoken defense of
the school’s traditional “Western Civilization” curriculum and his
rejection of calls for greater “diversity” in academic approach.Esolen’s essays have drawn public criticism from the president of the Catholic college, and a group of faculty members have signed a statement - cleared aimed at Esolen - decrying “recent publications on the part of PC faculty have involved racist, xenophobic, misogynist, homophobic, and religiously chauvinist statements.”
In an interview with the American Conservative, Esolen responds at length, pointing out:
The dirty not-so-secret is that the same people who for many years have loathed our Development of Western Civilization program — the focus of curricular hostility — also despise the Catholic Church and wish to render the Catholic identity of the college merely nominal.