Conventional wisdom holds that American society is and has long been pervasively anti-intellectual, with only elite academics embracing the life of the mind. Kelly Susan Bradbury challenges that view, arguing that there have long been institutions outside of elite intellectual circles that have in fact nurtured intellectual life. She outlines this view in her new book, Reimagining Popular Notions of American Intellectualism: Literacy, Education and Class (Southern Illinois University Press). Bradbury, who teaches writing and rhetoric at the University of Colorado at Boulder, responded via email to questions about her book.
