My senior seminar on the reactionary right has now come to an end. The honest truth is that I'm not very happy with how the class unfolded. It was a mixed bag. Some of the readings were illuminating, as were some of our discussions in class. But at least half of the readings disappointed me, and I would say the same about how the students responded to those readings. I can't say I blame them. This was a collection of grim, angry, embittered authors and texts often motivated by imperfectly processed resentments. In what follows, I will begin by laying out the conceptual assumptions behind my choice of readings and themes for the course. Then I'll list the authors and texts I assigned. From there, I'll discuss those that really failed to impress me'that is, those I would not teach again. Then I'll close by highlighting the best things we read and thought about in the class'and how that has changed the way I assess the reactionary impulse in politics.
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