Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1998. [Vol. 5.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 25)

Studies - Pál Csontos: Is Political Correctness Politically Correct? A Tour along the Alleyways of the Shambles Called Political Correctness

PC has been applied to a range of fields, from education

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' through weatherforecasting to personal computers. Just to illustrate its diverse applicational possibilities, a sample of the list offered by Harold K. Bush, Jr. includes articles that relate PC to children's literature;

12 mathematics instruction; literary anthologies; graduate education in English; academic research; general cinema; western films; house construction; ecotourism;

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3 the business of selling sweaters; gift'' Dinesh D'Souza's Illiberal Education: The Politics of Race and Sex on Campus is considered to be by many the most widely read and discussed book dealing with the issues of PC on campus. D'souza, regarded as the chief spokesperson on PC for the political right, discusses in his book a number of conspicuous educational policies at different major American universities. Although D'Souza focuses upon important educational issues and provides an impressive amount of research, his book has been

—deservedly, Bush contends

—attacked "for careless analysis, hasty generalizations, and some overtly uninformed opinions" (51). For example, the author uses the term "politically correct" only once, in the section of the last chapter called "New Racism." Even these are not his own words. He quotes Donald Kagan, dean of arts and sciences at Yale, who contends that it "is common in universities today to hear talk of politically correct opinions, or PC for short" (239). (See also John C. Chalberg's review in Eger Journal II) One related, although undoubtedly humorously intended, publication in the field is James Finn Garner's Politically Correct Bedtime Stories, published in New York by Macmillan Books 1994. Modern Tales for Our Life and Times contains updated versions of 13 classical fairy tales, including Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Snow White, and The Three Little Pigs. As retold by Garner, they surprise us by unexpected twists in their plots and the new features championed by their protagonists, all this in the spirit of PC. The politically correct little pigs, for example, "set up a model socialist democracy with free education, universal health care, and affordable housing for everyone" but the readers are asked to note that the wolf in the story "was a metaphorical construct" and that "no actual wolves were harmed in the writing of the story" (12). Whether this is in all good faith, judge for yourselves... (For an analysis, see András Tarnóc's essay in Eger Journal, Volume II) 1

3 A look at the table of contents of The PC Committee's Are You PC? 101 Questions to Determine if You Are Politically Correct can prove to be fairly educational. After a brief introduction, the readers get multiple-choice questions broken down to various fields or walks of life where PC is applicable (is there anywhere it is not?) The questions sometimes read as if they were asked in earnest, sometimes they are downright funny if you do not take them for their provocative value. The answers speak for themselves. Environmentalem QUESTION #52 How many of the following steps have you taken to conserve water

? (1)1 shut off the water while brushing my teeth. 31