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Mark Bauerlein is Senior Editor at First Things and Professor of English at Emory University, where he has taught since earning his PhD in English at UCLA in 1989. For two years (2003-05) he served as Director of the Office of Research and Analysis at the National Endowment for the Arts. His books include Literary Criticism: An Autopsy (1997), The Pragmatic Mind: Explorations in the Psychology of Belief (1997), and The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (2008). His essays have appeared in PMLA, Partisan Review, Wilson Quarterly, Commentary, and New Criterion, and his commentaries and reviews in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Weekly Standard, The Guardian, Chronicle of Higher Education, and other national periodicals.

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Sex and Campus

From First Thoughts

The results of a survey of female college students came out this week, and the numbers are distressing. The Association of American Universities commissioned a “Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct,” focusing on “the incidence, prevalence and characteristics of . . . . Continue Reading »

The Flock vs. the Shepherd

From First Thoughts

A poll taken of Long Island Catholics and reported in Newsday has a finding that has become customary in media discussions. While 88 percent of Catholic respondents regard religion as “very important” or “fairly important” in their lives, they aren’t that happy with Church doctrine. . . . . Continue Reading »

The Derridean Echo

From Web Exclusives

When I read this story on the University of Tennessee Office for Diversity and Inclusion asking students and teachers to stop imposing gendered pronouns on one another, I didn’t think about the silliness of trying to create linguistic change by bureaucratic fiat. Or about one more exercise in . . . . Continue Reading »

Bret Stephens and Trump

From First Thoughts

The Donald Trump phenomenon continues, and so does the commentary upon it. In the Wall Street Journal, Bret Stephens termed the latter “a parade of semi-sophisticated theories that act as bathroom deodorizer to mask the stench of this candidacy.” Rusty Reno took note of Stephens’s . . . . Continue Reading »

Politicians and the Common Folk

From First Thoughts

My friend Tom visits Martha's Vineyard every summer, where his family has owned a cottage for decades. Things have changed since his childhood, as was clear last week when President Obama and candidate Hillary Clinton joined other guests at the Farm Neck Country Club for the 80th birthday of . . . . Continue Reading »

The Amazon Smear

From First Thoughts

Ryan Anderson’s new book Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom now has 157 comments at the Amazon page. The average rating in the “Customer Reviews” section is 3.5 stars out of 5, a score that would cast it as a middling effort in ordinary circumstances. But . . . . Continue Reading »

The Moral of the Court

From First Thoughts

The final paragraph of Justice Kennedy's decision is being hailed as an eloquent and humane expression that identifies what was really at stake in the marriage case: not the Constitutionality of traditional marriage laws, but the dignity and happiness of a particular group. Here is the full . . . . Continue Reading »

The Republican Answer to the Question

From First Thoughts

In the next year and a half, the question is going to be asked again and again until the Republican candidates come up with a winning answer. If Jeb Bush is at one podium and Hillary Clinton at another, we may be sure that George Stephanopoulos will begin with it:  Governor Bush, do you think . . . . Continue Reading »