342:, Nathan Heller was critical from another corner, arguing that the "quandaries" Deresiewicz describes are "distinctly middle-class.". Heller says that Deresiewicz argues the liberal arts "will help students hone their 'moral imagination,'" but "The advice seems cheap. When an impoverished student at Stanford, the first in his family to go to college, opts for a six-figure salary in finance after graduation, a very different but equally compelling kind of 'moral imagination' may be at play. (Imagine being able to pay off your loans and never again having to worry about keeping a roof over your family’s heads.)" Despite this mixed critical response, the book was a
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and went viral online. In it, he makes the case that leadership entails more than just success and accomplishment. Citing observations he made of students at Yale and
Columbia, Deresiewicz discusses the ubiquity of "world-class hoop jumpers" who "can climb the greasy pole of whatever hierarchy they
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and other elite colleges and universities for supposedly coddling their students and discouraging independent thought. He claims that elite institutions produce students who are unable to communicate with people who don't have the same backgrounds as themselves, noting as the first example his own
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daily book review, praised it as "packed full of what wants more of in
American life: passionate weirdness." He characterized Deresiewicz as "a vivid writer, a literary critic whose headers tend to land in the back corner of the net," one whose "indictment arrives on wheels: He takes aim at just
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Sunday book review, Anthony
Grafton conceded that "much of his dystopian description rings true" but argued that "the coin has another side, one that Deresiewicz rarely inspects...Professors and students have agency. They use the structures they inhabit in creative ways that are not dreamt of in
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Deresiewicz juxtaposes his reading of Jane Austen with insight into his own life. For example, the reader learns about his controlling father, a series of girlfriends that come and go, and the struggles of being raised in a religious household.
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In this memoir of a sort, Deresiewicz admits that he was initially resistant to reading 19th-century
British fiction. Soon, though, he discovered that Austen’s novels are valuable tools in the journey towards becoming an adult.
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369:) are those who are able to step outside the cycle of achievement and hoop jumping in order to think for themselves. Deresiewicz claims that solitude is essential to becoming a leader.
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high school. He has described himself as being "thrown out" of the high school and has imagined that he might have been charged with "gross insubordination and incipient atheism".
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973:"Free Press to Publish EXCELLENT SHEEP: Thinking for Yourself, Inventing Your Life, and Other Things the Ivy League Won't Teach You by William Deresiewicz"
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Deresiewicz received his B.A. in biology and psychology (1985), his master's in journalism (1987), and Ph.D. in
English (1998) from
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Deresiewicz’s philosophy, and that are more common and more meaningful than the 'exceptions' he allows." In the
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about the entirety of upper-middle-class life in
America." Other responses, however, were more critical. In the
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In
October 2009, Deresiewicz delivered a speech titled "Solitude and Leadership" to the plebe class at the
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The Death of the Artist: How
Creators Are Struggling to Survive in the Age of Billionaires and Big Tech
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138:; born 1964) is an American author, essayist, and literary critic, who taught English at
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Excellent Sheep: The
Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life
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decide to attach themselves to." Instead, he argues, true leaders (such as
General
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titled "The Disadvantages of an Elite Education." In it, he criticizes the
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322:(2014). This work had a mixed response. Dwight Garner, writing for the
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In the summer of 2008, Deresiewicz published a controversial essay for
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643:"The Neoliberal Arts: How college sold its soul to the market"
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1101:"Want To Be A Leader? 'Learn To Be Alone With Your Thoughts'"
613:"What a Piece of Work: Mark Greif's intellectual excavations"
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His criticism directed at a popular audience has appeared in
1073:"Hardcover Nonfiction Bestseller List for September 7, 2014"
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to become a full-time writer. In 2012, he was awarded the
876:"National Book Critics Circle Names 2012 Award Finalists"
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The article became the groundwork for Deresiewicz's book
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Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni
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inability to talk to his plumber. Deresiewicz then uses
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Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni
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1152:"How Can We Pay for Creativity in the Digital Age?"
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248:Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing
213:Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science
207:. His father, Herbert Deresiewicz, emigrated from
211:and was a professor of mechanical engineering at
1124:"The Key Missing Ingredient In Leadership Today"
238:. He taught courses in modern British fiction,
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289:"The Disadvantages of an Elite Education" and
215:. He grew up in a Jewish home and attended a
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358:United States Military Academy at West Point
265:website from March 2011 to September 2013.
234:In 1998, Deresiewicz joined the faculty of
719:Deresiewicz, William (November 30, 2011).
672:"Paid Notice: Deaths DERESIEWICZ, HERBERT"
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996:"The Lower Ambitions of Higher Education"
952:"The Disadvantages of an Elite Education"
476:"The Disadvantages of an Elite Education"
381:on how artists sustain themselves in the
1242:American academics of English literature
975:(Press release). PR Newswire Association
769:"Alumni in the News: September 13, 2021"
413:William Deresiewicz & Mark Edmundson
1312:American people of Czech-Jewish descent
641:Deresiewicz, William (September 2015).
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142:from 1998 to 2008. He is the author of
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843:"The Wolf Sits Down Within the Flock"
521:Deresiewicz, William (6 March 2017).
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1022:"The Enclosure of the American Mind"
1046:Heller, Nathan (1 September 2014).
1020:Grafton, Anthony (22 August 2014).
841:Schuessler, Jennifer (2014-09-19).
498:Deresiewicz, William (March 2010).
1297:Columbia College (New York) alumni
1282:Writers from Englewood, New Jersey
950:Deresiewicz, William (June 2008).
874:John Williams (January 14, 2012).
611:Deresiewicz, William (June 2015).
590:William Deresiewicz (2000-08-06).
569:William Deresiewicz (2005-01-09).
548:William Deresiewicz (2012-02-22).
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1208:The Nation profile of Deresiewicz
994:Garner, Dwight (12 August 2014).
924:Seymour, Miranda (10 June 2011).
815:Ahamed, Nick (October 29, 2014).
45:Literary critic, author, essayist
203:Deresiewicz was born in 1964 in
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1287:21st-century American essayists
1172:Lackey, Ryan (August 6, 2020).
377:In 2020, Deresiewicz published
1150:Hsu, Hua (September 7, 2020).
749:. Spectator Publishing Company
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795:"Long Story Short: About Me"
474:William Deresiewicz (2008).
453:William Deresiewicz (2007).
360:. It was later published in
252:National Book Critics Circle
1262:Literary critics of English
32:1964 (age 59–60)
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1292:21st-century American Jews
926:"Lessons From Jane Austen"
523:"On Political Correctness"
1252:Jewish American academics
1247:American literary critics
904:"The Complete All Points"
550:"That is So! That is So!"
500:"Solitude and Leadership"
352:"Solitude and Leadership"
721:"A Jew in the Northwest"
199:Early life and education
1267:Yale University faculty
275:A Jane Austen Education
154:The Death of the Artist
144:A Jane Austen Education
1272:American male bloggers
902:Deresiewicz, William.
793:Deresiewicz, William.
773:Columbia College Today
747:"The Academic Dilemma"
745:Deresiewicz, William.
1257:Criticism of academia
426:"William Deresiewicz"
393:Deresiewicz lives in
261:blog appeared on the
205:Englewood, New Jersey
35:Englewood, New Jersey
725:The American Scholar
592:"Among The Bad Boys"
571:"You Talkin' to Me?"
527:The American Scholar
481:The American Scholar
460:The American Scholar
362:The American Scholar
298:The American Scholar
168:The American Scholar
1103:. Boston University
224:Columbia University
83:William Deresiewicz
62:Columbia University
23:William Deresiewicz
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430:Author Bios
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1226:Categories
1052:New Yorker
860:2021-08-11
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681:2022-01-21
656:7 November
626:7 November
439:2007-07-19
434:The Nation
339:New Yorker
311:John Kerry
302:Ivy League
259:All Points
162:The Nation
42:Occupation
855:0362-4331
730:March 13,
651:Harper's
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156:(2020).
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230:Career
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