>I met a woman who had just graduated with an economics major. I asked
>her if she had read any Doug Henwood or James Galbraith. She hadn't
>even heard of them. MF was the man in the Econ dept of her school.
>Anyone, is this the norm for most schools? Is this a silly question?
>
>-Alec>
Alas, I'm sad to say that this is how things are at Berkeley as well. Despite its reputation for "radicalism," econ majors here are lucky if they have more than a fleeting familiarity with Keynes -- not to mention Doug Henwood. Their "education" in economics basically consists of 4 years of indoctrination in neo-liberal Chigago School monetarist theory. Most of the lectures sound like Republican Party campaign speeches. It's basically taught as religion. Students are not taught or encouraged to think critically about what they are being told. In fact, they are not encouraged to think at all, but simply to memorize and regurgitate on exams. In addition to the econ department, we've also got the Haas School of Business which is even worse. I actually had one good history professor who referred to it as the Haas School of British Theology -- and that comment was right on the mark.