Beyond Woke

A few short years ago, Michael Rectenwald was a Marxist professor at NYU, pursuing his career and contemplating becoming a Trotskyist, when the political climate on campus – victimology, cancel-culture, no-platforming, and political correctness run-amok – began to bother him. He responded by creating a Twitter handle, AntiPCNYUProf (now TheAntiPCProf), and began bashing campus excesses with humor and biting satire. Predictably, he was soon discovered and pushed out of his job.

Rectenwald struck back by publishing Springtime for Snowflakes, a memoir of his experiences in academia, which included criticism and analyses of the leftism now dominating campus culture. He followed that book with Google Archipelago, which delves into the seeming enigma of why big business embraces far-left politics – hint: self-interest is involved – and the rapid growth of consumer/citizen surveillance. The foundation for a robust leftist totalitarianism is being carefully laid.

With this new volume, Rectenwald returns with his characteristic sharp wit and incisive analysis and continues to fine tune his critique of modern leftism. He brings his unique perspective as an ex-Marxist and civil libertarian to bear on leftist culture, with its abandonment of traditional morality and emphasis on collective social identities — which are ironically increasingly atomized, as overwhelming centrifugal forces break up any previously stable social cohesion.

The revolution is here and it’s winning. Find out why, and how to combat it. Get Beyond Woke.

Author Biography

Michael Rectenwald is a recently retired Professor of Liberal Studies at New York University, where he taught cultural and social history as well as academic writing since 2008. He is the author of nine books, including Google Archipelago: The Digital Gulag and the Simulation of Freedom (New English Review Press, 2019), Springtime for Snowflakes: ‘Social Justice’ and Its Postmodern Parentage (New English Review Press, 2018), Nineteenth-Century British Secularism: Science, Religion and Literature (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), Academic Writing, Real World Topics (Broadview Press, 2015), and Global Secularisms in a Post-Secular Age (De Gruyter, 2015). Rectenwald is a prominent spokesperson for academic freedom and free speech and an expert on the history and character of the ‘social justice’ movement. He has published articles and essays on these topics in several periodicals and news outlets and has appeared regularly on national television networks, as well as on numerous podcasts and radio shows.