Neil Postman website

Way, way back — long before I ever thought I wanted an academic career — I read a book by Neil Postman. It had such a profound and energizing effect on me that I never quite let go of some of the questions he raised, and the ideas he sparked for me. He was one of the first people I’d ever encountered with a doctorate in education, and I really wanted to learn more about his areas of study.

Eventually I managed to take a class with him, while I was a student at Harvard Div. He was a wonderful story-teller, but he couldn't quite "get" why I thought popular culture was something religious educators needed to be engaged with. In any case, a whole flood of memories came back to me today when I stumbled upon a website devoted to his work. Although he died in 2003, the site is still up and still chock-full of useful resources -- including a number of his articles, available in full text online. I have never been quite so pessimistic as he was about "tv culture" -- but I have always appreciated his trenchant observations. You can also find good things at this website, and of course in his wikipedia entry.