Gerald Graff Hidden Intellectualism Summary

Academic VS Cultural Intellectualism

In Gerald Graff’s essay Hidden Intellectualism; he criticizes those who do not put appropriate value into "street smarts." Graff persists that knowledge extends further than academic learning and carries into the everyday life. He writes about some of his precollege experiences with being as a “nonintellectual” due to his lack of interest in academic literary subjects. Graff also discusses how his interest in sports actually led him into academic intellectualism as an adult. Graff’s theses that intellectualism should not be restricted to just the “intellectual” academic subjects but instead should include popular interests of students into academic studies. Graff effectively debates that his childhood conversations with his friends are
He says, “I see now that the interminable analysis of sports teams, movies, and toughness that my friends and I engaged in – a type of analysis…” (300). Integrating cultural and academic subjects, students can amplify their educational horizons. Graff's theory of street smarts is enormously useful since it brings to light the ongoing issue of social life being excluded from academic curriculum; however, this is not to say that street smarts are more important than academic knowledge. Graff argues that these subjects should be seen through "academic eyes," If students receive the opportunity to study and write on topics of interest to them, it would enable more students to attain more benefits in the classroom and provide an opportunity to learn about subjects related to their social and personal lives with his statement, “I began to learn the rudiments of the intellectual life: how to make an argument, weigh different kinds of evidence, move between particulars, and enter a conversation about ideas”, which can lead to a strong national community