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Merit The History of a Founding Ideal from the American Revolution to the Twenty-First Century

Kett Joseph
Innbundet / 2012 / Engelsk

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780801451225
Publisert
2012
Utgiver
Vendor
Cornell University Press
Vekt
907 gr
Høyde
235 mm
Bredde
155 mm
Dybde
27 mm
AldersnivĂĽ
01, G, 01
SprĂĽk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet

Forfatter
Kett Joseph

Om bidragsyterne

Joseph F. Kett is James Madison Professor of History at the University of Virginia. He is the author of books including The Pursuit of Knowledge Under Difficulties: From Self-Improvement to Adult Education in America, 1750–1990 and coauthor of The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy.

Merit The History of a Founding Ideal from the American Revolution to the Twenty-First Century

Kett Joseph
Innbundet / 2012 / Engelsk
Kett Joseph
Innbundet / 2012 / Engelsk
Nettpris:
510,-
Levering 7-20 dager
Sjekk lagerstatus i butikk

<p>Historian Kett (Univ. of Virginia) provides a wide-ranging history of the idea of merit, tracing its shaping of the US over the course of three centuries. Much has been written about the importance of 'equality' and 'consent' to the American experience; comparatively, 'merit' has been overlooked. For Kett, the US was 'born meritorious,' as advancement by merit was a pillar belief of American revolutionaries.... Summing Up: Recommended.</p>

- M.G. Spencer, Choice

<p>"Kett's dense and detailed history argues that the ideal of merit was vital to the founding and development of the United States... This ambitious and wide-ranging book is an apt complement to such indispensable studies of the subject... " —Darrin M. McMahon</p>

The Journal of Interdisciplinary History

<p>Kett's history of decision making about talent is consistently strong and readable.... The bittersweet legacy for American history is a partial triumph of meritocracy. There is a perennial tension in attempts to reconcile equality and excellence. Setting asside abuses of blatant favoritism, a typical situaion is as thus: whether in admission to an academically selective college, in selecting candidates for a judgeship or cabinet position, in being hired as a CEO, or in choosing an award-winning book, the social fact is that often most applicants are qualified, perhaps highly qualified. The corollary is that even talented people can be left out in high-stakes competition. That may not be the way of the world, but as Kett's excellent book documents, it is the American way.</p>

- John R. Thelin, The Journal of Southern History

Se alle

<p>The young American republic seemed a nation peculiarly conducive to recognizing merit, or a 'quality deserving reward' in public life. Here Kett traces the evolution of this ideal from the revolution forward, pointing out how merit frequently clashed with other ideals such as equality.... He succeeds in a tightrope performance, tying what seem disparate phenomena together in a frequently delightful narrative..... Kett’s book has opened new historical avenues.</p>

Library Journal

<p>This book provides a veritable treasure trove of historical anecdotes, facts, statistics, and studies relating to American educational history and its intersections with American political history. The book is impressively researched throughout and provides a number of insightful suggestions at the intersections of American political history/theory and educational history/theory. For these reasons, Kett's book should prove valuable to a wide range of scholars of American political thought, including both historians and political scientists.</p>

- S. Adam Seagrave, Political Science Quarterly

The idea that citizens' advancement should depend exclusively on merit, on qualities that deserve reward rather than on bloodlines or wire-pulling, was among the Founding ideals of the American republic, Joseph F. Kett argues in this provocative and engaging book. Merit's history, he contends, is best understood within the context of its often conflicting interaction with the other ideals of the Founding, equal rights and government by consent. Merit implies difference; equality suggests sameness. By sanctioning selection of those lower down by those higher up, merit potentially conflicts with the republican ideal that citizens consent to the decisions that affect their lives.In Merit, which traces the history of its subject over three centuries, Kett asserts that Americans have reconciled merit with other principles of the Founding in ways that have shaped their distinctive approach to the grading of public schools, report cards, the forging of workplace hierarchies, employee rating forms, merit systems in government, the selection of officers for the armed forces, and standardized testing for intelligence, character, and vocational interests. Today, the concept of merit is most commonly associated with measures by which it is quantified.Viewing their merit as an element of their selfhood—essential merit—members of the Founding generation showed no interest in quantitative measurements. Rather, they equated merit with an inner quality that accounted for their achievements and that was best measured by their reputations among their peers. In a republic based on equal rights and consent of the people, however, it became important to establish that merit-based rewards were within the grasp of ordinary Americans. In response, Americans embraced institutional merit in the form of procedures focused on drawing small distinctions among average people. They also developed a penchant for increasing the number of winners in competitions—what Kett calls "selection in" rather than "selection out"—in order to satisfy popular aspirations. Kett argues that values rooted in the Founding of the republic continue to influence Americans’ approach to controversies, including those surrounding affirmative action, which involve the ideal of merit.
Les mer
The idea that citizens' advancement should depend exclusively on merit, on qualities that deserve reward rather than on bloodlines or wire-pulling, was among the Founding ideals of the American republic, Joseph F. Kett argues in this book.
Les mer
Introduction: The Faces of Merit1. Republic of Merit2. Merit and the Culture of Public Life3. Small Worlds: Competition in the Colleges4. Making the Grade: Managed Competition and Schooling5. The Scientific Measurement of Merit6. The "Presumption of Merit": Institutionalizing Merit7. Squeeze Play: Merit in Government8. Merit in CrisisEpilogue: Merit, Equality, ConsentNotes Index
Les mer
A great virtue of this book—really a stunning notion—is that there are such things as a history of merit and a history of the idea of merit and its associated institutions in America. No one has ever written this book or anything close to it.
Les mer
Series editors: Brian Balogh and Jonathan Zimmerman
History happens in and through institutions. Social scientists and political historians have rediscovered the importance of institutions, placing them in their broader cultural and social context. Far less attention has been devoted to the ways in which core institutions have influenced the social and cultural landscape around them. This is despite the fact that it is in institutions that we all engage in history, understand ourselves, reform our culture, and ultimately act in ways that make concrete differences in society. The American Institutions and Society series turns our attention toward the crucial organizations and practices that define the history of the United States of America. Guided by the understanding that these institutions both reflect and affect trends in society, books in the series will show us the complex relationship among institutions and individuals in the social, psychological, cultural, political, and economic facets of their lives. About the Editors Brian Balogh is Professor of History, Director and Chair of the Miller Center National Fellowship Program, and Compton Professor at the University of Virginia. His publications include A Government Out of Sight: The Mystery of National Authority in Nineteenth-Century America (Cambridge University Press). Jonathan Zimmerman is Professor of Education and History at New York University and Director of the History of Education Program at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. His publications include Too Hot to Handle: A Global History of Sex Education (Princeton University Press). Please note: This series has concluded and will not be accepting any more submissions.
Les mer

Relaterte produkter

<p>Historian Kett (Univ. of Virginia) provides a wide-ranging history of the idea of merit, tracing its shaping of the US over the course of three centuries. Much has been written about the importance of 'equality' and 'consent' to the American experience; comparatively, 'merit' has been overlooked. For Kett, the US was 'born meritorious,' as advancement by merit was a pillar belief of American revolutionaries.... Summing Up: Recommended.</p>

- M.G. Spencer, Choice

<p>"Kett's dense and detailed history argues that the ideal of merit was vital to the founding and development of the United States... This ambitious and wide-ranging book is an apt complement to such indispensable studies of the subject... " —Darrin M. McMahon</p>

The Journal of Interdisciplinary History

<p>Kett's history of decision making about talent is consistently strong and readable.... The bittersweet legacy for American history is a partial triumph of meritocracy. There is a perennial tension in attempts to reconcile equality and excellence. Setting asside abuses of blatant favoritism, a typical situaion is as thus: whether in admission to an academically selective college, in selecting candidates for a judgeship or cabinet position, in being hired as a CEO, or in choosing an award-winning book, the social fact is that often most applicants are qualified, perhaps highly qualified. The corollary is that even talented people can be left out in high-stakes competition. That may not be the way of the world, but as Kett's excellent book documents, it is the American way.</p>

- John R. Thelin, The Journal of Southern History

Se alle

<p>The young American republic seemed a nation peculiarly conducive to recognizing merit, or a 'quality deserving reward' in public life. Here Kett traces the evolution of this ideal from the revolution forward, pointing out how merit frequently clashed with other ideals such as equality.... He succeeds in a tightrope performance, tying what seem disparate phenomena together in a frequently delightful narrative..... Kett’s book has opened new historical avenues.</p>

Library Journal

<p>This book provides a veritable treasure trove of historical anecdotes, facts, statistics, and studies relating to American educational history and its intersections with American political history. The book is impressively researched throughout and provides a number of insightful suggestions at the intersections of American political history/theory and educational history/theory. For these reasons, Kett's book should prove valuable to a wide range of scholars of American political thought, including both historians and political scientists.</p>

- S. Adam Seagrave, Political Science Quarterly

The idea that citizens' advancement should depend exclusively on merit, on qualities that deserve reward rather than on bloodlines or wire-pulling, was among the Founding ideals of the American republic, Joseph F. Kett argues in this provocative and engaging book. Merit's history, he contends, is best understood within the context of its often conflicting interaction with the other ideals of the Founding, equal rights and government by consent. Merit implies difference; equality suggests sameness. By sanctioning selection of those lower down by those higher up, merit potentially conflicts with the republican ideal that citizens consent to the decisions that affect their lives.In Merit, which traces the history of its subject over three centuries, Kett asserts that Americans have reconciled merit with other principles of the Founding in ways that have shaped their distinctive approach to the grading of public schools, report cards, the forging of workplace hierarchies, employee rating forms, merit systems in government, the selection of officers for the armed forces, and standardized testing for intelligence, character, and vocational interests. Today, the concept of merit is most commonly associated with measures by which it is quantified.Viewing their merit as an element of their selfhood—essential merit—members of the Founding generation showed no interest in quantitative measurements. Rather, they equated merit with an inner quality that accounted for their achievements and that was best measured by their reputations among their peers. In a republic based on equal rights and consent of the people, however, it became important to establish that merit-based rewards were within the grasp of ordinary Americans. In response, Americans embraced institutional merit in the form of procedures focused on drawing small distinctions among average people. They also developed a penchant for increasing the number of winners in competitions—what Kett calls "selection in" rather than "selection out"—in order to satisfy popular aspirations. Kett argues that values rooted in the Founding of the republic continue to influence Americans’ approach to controversies, including those surrounding affirmative action, which involve the ideal of merit.
Les mer
The idea that citizens' advancement should depend exclusively on merit, on qualities that deserve reward rather than on bloodlines or wire-pulling, was among the Founding ideals of the American republic, Joseph F. Kett argues in this book.
Les mer
Introduction: The Faces of Merit1. Republic of Merit2. Merit and the Culture of Public Life3. Small Worlds: Competition in the Colleges4. Making the Grade: Managed Competition and Schooling5. The Scientific Measurement of Merit6. The "Presumption of Merit": Institutionalizing Merit7. Squeeze Play: Merit in Government8. Merit in CrisisEpilogue: Merit, Equality, ConsentNotes Index
Les mer
A great virtue of this book—really a stunning notion—is that there are such things as a history of merit and a history of the idea of merit and its associated institutions in America. No one has ever written this book or anything close to it.
Les mer
Series editors: Brian Balogh and Jonathan Zimmerman
History happens in and through institutions. Social scientists and political historians have rediscovered the importance of institutions, placing them in their broader cultural and social context. Far less attention has been devoted to the ways in which core institutions have influenced the social and cultural landscape around them. This is despite the fact that it is in institutions that we all engage in history, understand ourselves, reform our culture, and ultimately act in ways that make concrete differences in society. The American Institutions and Society series turns our attention toward the crucial organizations and practices that define the history of the United States of America. Guided by the understanding that these institutions both reflect and affect trends in society, books in the series will show us the complex relationship among institutions and individuals in the social, psychological, cultural, political, and economic facets of their lives. About the Editors Brian Balogh is Professor of History, Director and Chair of the Miller Center National Fellowship Program, and Compton Professor at the University of Virginia. His publications include A Government Out of Sight: The Mystery of National Authority in Nineteenth-Century America (Cambridge University Press). Jonathan Zimmerman is Professor of Education and History at New York University and Director of the History of Education Program at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. His publications include Too Hot to Handle: A Global History of Sex Education (Princeton University Press). Please note: This series has concluded and will not be accepting any more submissions.
Les mer

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780801451225
Publisert
2012
Utgiver
Vendor
Cornell University Press
Vekt
907 gr
Høyde
235 mm
Bredde
155 mm
Dybde
27 mm
AldersnivĂĽ
01, G, 01
SprĂĽk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet

Forfatter
Kett Joseph

Om bidragsyterne

Joseph F. Kett is James Madison Professor of History at the University of Virginia. He is the author of books including The Pursuit of Knowledge Under Difficulties: From Self-Improvement to Adult Education in America, 1750–1990 and coauthor of The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy.

Relaterte produkter