--- title: "William Deresiewicz & Jonathan Zimmerman: The Ivy-League Miseducation of the American Elite?" description: "William Deresiewicz & Jonathan Zimmerman: The Ivy-League Miseducation of the American Elite?" image: https://simeonmorrow.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/deresiewicz-zimmerman-show-graphic-page-001-Mar-13-2024-06-19-22-7483-PM.jpg --- [![viennalive](https://simeonmorrow.com/hubfs/viennalive.webp)](https://simeonmorrow.com) - [Episodes](https://simeonmorrow.com/vienna-live) - [About](https://simeonmorrow.com/about) - [Tune In](https://simeonmorrow.com/watch) - [Join the Wednesday Webinar](https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpdeirrT8tHtD4QDkUUf6QXoFkzbbhVbkA?_x_zm_rtaid=f0-MHpkbT5eqI7h7M5RQEQ.1713819449296.c5695eb620bad67d1faf6b75afb50f8b&_x_zm_rhtaid=266#/registration) - [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vienna-live-with-simeon-morrow/id1735993243) - [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/7w5bY1VKP9HMUXQtvDB7jP?si=9823384893304894) - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@viennalive/playlists) - [Linkedin Live](https://www.linkedin.com/company/75388129/) [Become a Sponsor for $5/month](https://simeonmorrow.com/sponsor) Subscribe # William Deresiewicz & Jonathan Zimmerman: The Ivy-League Miseducation of the American Elite? William Deresiewicz & Jonathan Zimmerman: The Ivy-League Miseducation of the American Elite? [Vienna Live with Simeon Morrow](https://simeonmorrow.com/vienna-live/author/simeonmorrow) Aug 30, 2021 --- [![](https://simeonmorrow.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/deresiewicz-zimmerman-show-graphic-page-001-Mar-13-2024-06-19-22-7483-PM.jpg)](https://www.facebook.com/events/867485787082872/) *For those who give credence to Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of social Distinction, William Deresiewicz’ * Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite & the Way to a Meaningful Life* – a rebuke of elite American families’ academic objectives – may not come as a big surprise: the premium elites place on accumulating “institutionalized cultural capital,” the likes of a diploma awarded by an Ivy-League university, naturally promotes their collective identity and distinguishes their “habits” from those of other social classes.  But theory aside, what happens in practice when elite American families earn Ivy-League diplomas but don’t take seriously the age-old liberal arts education that informed the civic-minded decisions of their forefathers and, instead of taking *noblesse oblige *to heart, are fixated on using their capital collections to improve their own private socioeconomic standing?  Novel pandemonium seems to be the result.  Come welcome William Deresiewicz and Jonathan Zimmerman, author of *The Amateur Hour: A History of College Teaching*, the pioneering study of the evolution of undergraduate education in the United States, to our show for an in-depth discussion about the relevance of real learning. * **WATCH:** [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zDzVlRrtMs) / [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/ViennaLivewithSimeonMorrow/videos/william-deresiewicz-jonathan-zimmerman-the-ivy-league-miseducation-of-the-americ/3783563598534401) ## Similar posts ### [Hilary Gardner: On the Trail with The Lonesome Pines](https://simeonmorrow.com/vienna-live/2024/03/01/hilary-gardner-on-the-trail-with-the-lonesome-pines) Hilary Gardner: On the Trail with The Lonesome Pines Vienna Live with Simeon Morrow Mar 1, 2024 Classical Music ### [Rundfunkchor Berlin: The World to Come  ](https://simeonmorrow.com/vienna-live/2021/10/27/rundfunkchor-berlin-the-world-to-come) The Rundfunkchor Berlin is interviewed about the Berlin Radio Choir's Pandemic-era concert installation "The World to Come". Vienna Live with Simeon Morrow Oct 27, 2021 Classical Music ### [Julie Ford: A Non-Genre-Biased Choir?](https://simeonmorrow.com/vienna-live/2021/12/21/julie-ford-a-non-genre-biased-choir) Julie Ford: A Non-Genre-Biased Choir? Vienna Live with Simeon Morrow Mar 28, 2024 Every Friday, Simeon sends out programming news.  Please sign up by entering your email and clicking subscribe. [![cropped-vienna-live-social-graphic-feb-2023-Jan-22-2024-03-55-30-5508-PM](https://simeonmorrow.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/cropped-vienna-live-social-graphic-feb-2023-Jan-22-2024-03-55-30-5508-PM.png)](https://simeonmorrow.com)   ViennaLive™ is a brand name and trademark of the Simeon Morrow company. ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Vienna Live with Simeon Morrow", "url" : "https://simeonmorrow.com/vienna-live/author/simeonmorrow" }, "dateModified" : "2024-03-21T17:15:37.920Z", "datePublished" : "2021-08-30T14:25:15.000Z", "headline" : "William Deresiewicz & Jonathan Zimmerman: The Ivy-League Miseducation of the American Elite?", "image" : [ "https://simeonmorrow.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/deresiewicz-zimmerman-show-graphic-page-001-Mar-13-2024-06-19-22-7483-PM.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://simeonmorrow.com/vienna-live/2021/08/30/william-deresiewicz-jonathan-zimmerman-the-ivy-league-miseducation-of-the-american-elite", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://simeonmorrow.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/cropped-vienna-live-social-graphic-feb-2023-2.png" } } } ```