Description
Many university campuses in the United States experienced increased levels of unrest during the 1960s. San Diego universities also contributed to facets of student rebellion nationally and globally. Arguably, no one figure became such a polarizing and inspiring icon of the 1960s as UCSD’s Professor Herbert Marcuse. Guttural German seeks to uncover the roots of Marcuse’s controversial dismissal from UCSD while exploring the factors motivating his most vocal critics. Guttural German utilizes secondary source material that contextualizes the detractors of Marcuse and traces their history of opposition towards contrarian thought in the region. Additionally, Guttural German relies heavily primary sources from The San Diego Union, as well as archival material originating from SDSU Library Special Collections, letters and transcripts from (Dean of San Diego Journalism) Harold Keen’s collected papers; and documents from the Gwartney American Legion and Anti-Communism Collection at SDSU. While much has been written regarding Marcuse’s time in San Diego and his reluctant role as father of the “new left,” what makes Guttural German unique is its focus on the media’s function in the Marcuse controversy. Marcuse’s dual structuralist approach of synthesizing the work of Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx is used to respond to his critics, who it is argued held merely a vulgar or cursory grasp of Marcuse’s complex ideas.
