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'Dead white males' or 'Dead White European Males' ('DWEM') is a derisive term referring to a tradition of thought and pedagogy, like the Great Books focus of educational essentialism and Educational perennialism, which is believed to stress the importance and contributions of individual Europeanmales from the past, while largely ignoring other forces (economic or social, for example) or other groups of people (for example, individuals of non-European descent, and women).
Some of those most often included in this definition include Plato, Dante, William Shakespeare and Isaac Newton.
Other typical "dead white males" include:
The phrase "dead white males" (or "dead white men," "dead white guys" etc.) is a slang term used to deride the emphasis on high culture in Western civilization in schools (especially those in the United States), as the majority of figures previously considered significant in Western civilization were white males who are usually dead. Critics of the traditional curriculum argued that it enshrined a particular world view and that it valued older European history, for example, over more recent American achievements, as well as the achievements of women and minority groups. They also often implied that it was subconsciously racist and sexist. A form of history viewed in a similar way is the "Great man theory" of history.
As a result of increased DWEM focus, high school curricula in the United States in recent years have tended to be more inclusive of contributions from people who are not dead, white, or male. For example, a typical US high-school history curriculum might focus less on the contributions, decisions, and actions of such individuals as Robert E. Lee, and other DWM who were Generals, instead considering the contributions of individuals such as Crispus Attucks, who were never mentioned in textbooks until the late 1980s.
Critics of the term
Despite being itself supportive of a controversial racial classification of individuals as "White" vs "Non-White," the term DWEM was subsequently adopted by defenders of the traditional curriculum. Some supporters saw the particular "dead white European males" in question as being more worthy of study than proposed rival figures. Defenders of traditional curricula are often supporters of the accepted of English and European-language literature. They often characterise proposed curriculum change as being largely motivated by political activism. They argue that to dismiss any thinker or writer as a DWEM, and solely for that reason, cannot be a valid comment on the actual content.
In response, it has been pointed out that the term DWEM is not meant as a criticism of Plato, Aristotle, or other such "dead white" intellectuals. Instead, they suggest that it is a criticism of the academics that have held them in absolute esteem, while neglecting the possible worth of contemporary intellectuals or non-white intellectuals. Users of the term also often presume that their critics are bigots who have an automatically indignant reaction to the words "dead white males," as well as an automatic connection to eurocentric traditions.
It has also been pointed out that some authors who are widely accepted into the Western canon, such as the astronomer/mathematician Ptolemy and the theologian/philosopher Augustine of Hippo were born or lived in Africa, and may not have been "white" as that term is generally understood today, not to mention such figures as the author Alexandre Dumas, père (''The Three Musketeers'', etc) and the Russian poet Pushkin, both of whom were of mixed-race origin. Also, there have been canonized intellectuals such as Hegel who are labeled as DWEM, yet were influenced by non-Western ideas such as Buddhism.
Popular culture
The term has gained widespread enough currency that it can appear in mass-market media. For example, in the film ''10 Things I Hate about You'' (1999), an African-American high-school English teacher performs a rap version of a Shakespearean sonnet. Afterwards, he remarks that despite the fact that Shakespeare is merely a "dead white guy," he reassures the class that the playwright "knows his shit" and is still worth the attention. Harold Bloom has made the same argument, in a more academic style; see his book ''The Anxiety of Influence'' [1].
Australian playwright David Williamson also satirised this approach to education in his play ''Dead White Males.'' In the production, the ghost of Shakespeare is shot by a radical post-structuralist lecturer.
In the Simpsons episode, "Lisa the Iconoclast," Lisa's teacher Ms. Hoover calls her report exposing local hero Jebediah Springfield as a pirate, "nothing but dead white male-bashing from a PC thug."
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