Glenn Beck, the conservative Fox News commentator, is now offering his views in the form of an online university.
Mr. Beck’s effort is the latest in a slew of online “universities” run by celebrities. Bootsy Collins, the legendary bassist, kicked off Funk University this month, and Donald Trump, the business mogul, gave Trump University its start in 2005.
None of these institutions offer credit for their courses—just a promise of enlightenment for those willing to pay.
At Beck University, the focus is on “the concepts of faith, hope and charity” and “how they influence America’s past, her present, and, most importantly, her future,” says Mr. Beck’s announcement of the online institution.
Mr. Beck—who dropped out of Yale University after taking one course—has called in some experts to help teach the classes (on topics including U.S. government, history, and economics). Among the visiting lecturers listed on Mr. Beck’s site are James R. Stoner, Jr., a professor of political science at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge; David L. Buckner, who heads a consulting and training firm and is an adjunct faculty member at Columbia University’s Teachers College; and David Barton, the founder and president of the Christian advocacy organization WallBuilders who is best known for his argument that the early founders of the United States did not intend any separation of church and state.
Enrollment in the controversial commentator’s new venture costs $6.26 per month, for those who sign up for a 12-month subscription to Insider Extreme, which provides access to Mr. Beck’s exclusive video content. A point of comparison: The students who enrolled in Donald Trump’s foray into business education forked over thousands of dollars to Trump University. After complaints and a class-action lawsuit, the company changed its name to the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative, according to the New York Daily News.
10 Responses to Controversial Commentator Starts Online ‘University’
interface - July 8, 2010 at 7:18 am
Having playd’ohed with the concepts of facts, and history, and truth, why should the Mad Profit of the Airwaves not have a go at education and the university?
cb_10 - July 8, 2010 at 9:36 am
While Li has thoughtfully included a link to Barton’s well-reasoned argument about Jefferson and the modern revisionism of the Supreme Court, her summary of Barton’s argument as “the early founders of the United States did not intend any separation of church and state” is a mistatement. Barton clearly believes the wall between church and state was meant not to prevent religious action but to prevent precisely the kind of federal meddling that the courts have engaged in for the last 63 years. His argument is backed up by a rigorous reading of the historical literature, one that the Courts would do well to emulate. The well-formulated conclusions Barton reaches should make Americans of any faith (or none at all) skeptical of the reasonings our modern Court uses to regulate not only religion, but speech and other aspects of American life.
richardtaborgreene - July 8, 2010 at 9:53 am
One of the DELIGHTS of all business competition is when a moron becomes your new competitor. Harvard should be enjoying itself immensely. Nothing increases the demand for quality like the next Hitler in self appointed ignorant glory. Let 10,000 flowers bloom even if most of them are ugly, shallow, infertile, invalid, and petty. More generally, nut cases out of the woodwork will populate the web so thoroughly due to a la Malone decreased coordination costs that so a giant global trash pile will connect us all. Like 3rd world impoverished children we will get rakes and bags and google through it, looking for diamonds in the muck. This Fox guy, a particle of that muck, helps in his own self important way, the spotting of diamonds by the muck-like unclarity of soul and intent at his core. The causal banter of evil in its media bloated modern guise.
jimlove20 - July 8, 2010 at 10:24 am
Li’s title is “controversial commentator…”, but the article provides nothing to support that claim. The word controversial only appears again in the last paragraph in the sentence about the subscription cost. If this label is important enough for the title, is it worth mentioning in the article?Second, I’m still laughing at how (3.richardtaborgreene) refers to Beck as “the next Hitler” in one paragraph and mentions “the causal(sic) banter of evil” in the next. Isn’t that what you are doing? Again, no supporting facts, just call him Hitler becuase he is evil or at least his politics are not aligned with yours.
interface - July 8, 2010 at 11:27 am
From Barton’s “Wallbuilders” website:”WallBuilders’ goal is to exert a direct and positive influence in government, education, and the family by (1) educating the nation concerning the Godly foundation of our country; (2) providing information to federal, state, and local officials as they develop public policies which reflect Biblical values; and (3) encouraging Christians to be involved in the civic arena.”This sounds like a euphemism for theocracy-building, to me, and his interpretation of separation of church and state are going to reflect that aim.
11272784 - July 8, 2010 at 12:19 pm
All Beck will accomplish is to make the true believers even more rabid in defense of their viewpoint.This brings to mind the old computer acronym GIGO.Garbage in = garbage out.
j_c_rick - July 8, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Call me crazy, or even ignorant, but wasn’t one of the tenets of our country’s founding religious FREEDOM? To me, that means the freedom to practice any or NO religion, not strictly Christianity.As for the separation of church and state, just like any other interpretation made in a particular era without access to the people who actually developed the documents being discussed (Bible, anyone?), that interpretation is subject to the beliefs of the day. We can only hope that in a democracy, even Beck would call for reasoned discussion of ideas.I think this “university” will serve, as 11272784 mentioned, to make “believers” more rabid in defense of their own viewpoint. What I would hope for is rather than developing a single viewpoint, some effort would be made to promote critical thinking, and the pursuit of other points of view. Visit your library for access to documents of interest.
contreras - July 8, 2010 at 1:32 pm
The term “university” is restricted by law in most states. What state does he operate from?
mickeyslimp - July 8, 2010 at 5:50 pm
Contreras’ point is well taken. And, from the point of view of the Chronicle, should you be giving credence to an activity like this, or Mr. Trump’s or even mine should I decide to put an occasional lecture online and deem it a “university.”
agpbloom - July 9, 2010 at 11:18 am
I wonder if any of Beck’s “universities” will finally tell the truth about the substantial historical differences between progressivism and radicalism. It seems to me that Beck regularly indulges in a historical oversimplification when he juxtaposes progressive leaders like Woodrow Wilson, Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower with radicals like Saul Alinsky and Karl Marx.In the past, liberal progressives like John Dewey took extra pains to write and speak against radicalism. This is why the American philosopher actually took time to write a paper entitled “Why I am Not a Communist.”Will Beck’s history courses include this kind of information? Or will his “classes” continue to treat fascism, communism, progressivism and moderate political thinking as one giant movement. I wonder.