Postmodernism and the Re-Invention of Egerton Ryerson
By Rose Dyson Ed.D.
Past Chair, National Advisory Council CPRA
The following is based on a paper presented at the Canadian Peace Research Association Conference during the 2023 Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities held at York University, Toronto, ON
Postmodernism and the Re-Invention of Egerton Ryerson
Introduction
The decision to rename Ryerson University, as the Toronto Metropolitan University and remove the statue commemorating its namesake, Egerton Ryerson, exemplifies the impact of postmodernist thought on today’s academy. Regarded as a specific way of thinking about culture, philosophy, art and as a reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific, or objective efforts to explain reality the term has been used in many different ways. One common belief is that there is no real truth, that knowledge is always made or invented and not discovered
<en.m.wikipedia.org>. Statements that claim to be true for all people tend to be rejected. The focus is on the present reality of the individual and the view of the world each individual constructs. Taken to its logical conclusion, postmodernism allows for the freedom to rewrite history to suit one’s own inclinations.
For some the concept of postmodernism dates back to 19th century roots with citations that involve Hegel and Nietzsche (Stanford, 2005). Subsequent interpretations have revolved around a rejection of the principles of the Enlightenment such as assumptions surrounding the meaning of truth and logic. Reality, knowledge and values, it has been argued, are constructed by discourses, hence they can vary depending upon the nature and direction these take. Because those prevailing in society tend to reflect interests and values of dominant and elite groups postmodernists perceive themselves as advocates of egalitarianism. In the 1980s and 90s academic advocates on behalf of various ethnic, cultural, racial and religious groups embraced postmodern critiques of contemporary western society and postmodernism became the unofficial philosophy of the new movement of identity politics (Duigan, 2024). For still others the concept of postmodernism is situated in the fifties and sixties, with an emphasis on rapid social change and how it is transforming and advancing society beyond industrial modernity (Crook, Pakulski, &Waters, 1992). For the purposes of this paper, examples of postmodern discourse will be discussed within the context of our understanding of Egerton Ryerson. Its impact will be considered on the basis of present day distortions of the truth, regarding the lived experience of Ryerson and troubling evidence of academic decline resulting from unchallenged responses to assaults on academic integrity.
Disregarding the Historical Perspective
The mandate of the Ryerson, Standing Strong Task Force, set up by the president, Mohamed Lachemi, in December, 2020 was to develop principles to guide commemoration at the
university and to respond to the history and legacy of Egerton Ryerson “within the context of the university’s values” (Ryerson University, 2021). Despite the fact that there is no evidence that he was the architect of the residential schools, which led to the abuse of children and so much heartache among Indigenous people in Canada, the Task Force still recommended that the name of the institution be changed. Essentially they endorsed the assumption metastasizing within the wider university community that he was instrumental in their design and implementation. This misinformation, in turn, spread and affected the wider public perception.
In her comments on what to do with fallen statues such as Egerton Ryerson’s among others, museum planner and consultant, Gail Lord, had this to say in the Globe and Mail, “Ryerson, a supporter of public education, was a high-profile advocate of the residential-school policy, which separated more than 150,000 Indigenous children from their families – producing suffering for generations” (Lord, 2022). Scholarly research, demonstrating that Ryerson had nothing to do with the residential school policy to which she refers was either ignored or overlooked. Her interpretation of the evidence, tailored to suit the prevailing attitude, is a hallmark example of postmodernist thinking.
The Standing Strong Task Force which released its report in August, 2022 endorsed the false narrative of Ryerson’s complicity in setting up the residential schools on the basis of a perceived need to maintain today’s more inclusive and humane value system. Its rationale is an example of how a reconstructed narrative takes precedence over historical facts. The value of exploring perspectives from across sectors, backgrounds, and life experiences, which Lord advocates is a laudable objective, but in this case it would be flawed at the outset if it started out with a false set of facts. Lord appropriately argues for space to build awareness and understanding about historical processes, including how and why various statues were first erected and how they came to be removed, but it is pointless to begin such an inquiry based on misguided assumptions. Included also in such explorations must be the historical context in which the value systems we hold today evolved and developed with the passage of time. Such a reading of the circumstances surrounding Ryerson’s life and legacy through the lens of current interpretations of social justice, anti-oppression and anti-racism results in a distortion of reality.
Subtle but Dangerous Distortions of Truth
A much maligned concept associated with Egerton Ryerson in the Standing Strong Task Force report was that of ‘civilization’. The term civilized has been used for centuries in a technical as well as moral sense. Civilization is a concept pertaining to a stage of human social and cultural development considered most advanced that dates back thousands of years. It implies a transition from the hunter gatherer stage of life to permanent settlements. In our own time, to be civil implies politeness. This is evident in references to civil society with names of organizations such as “the Civil Liberties Association”.
In Ryerson’s time “civilized” was a term used to identify those engaged in non-nomadic, agricultural forms of livelihood by both settlers and the Indigenous. Hunter Knight argues, in her master’s thesis, that Ryerson’s idea of what it meant to be civilized was that there were categories of people who were uncivilized, internally deficient and that such interpretations were the foundational components to his plan for education for the state. This is a gross distortion of what scholarly research demonstrates was advocated by him and other fellow Methodist missionaries of the day, some of whom where Indigenous. The hunting and fishing lifestyle of
the Indigenous population was no longer sustainable. Settled farming, and some level of literacy, held the keys to future prosperity. Historical records of the time indicate that Indigenous leaders, themselves, endorsed Ryerson’s vision for public education and sought his support (Maclean, 2002,2005). Within any community, established codes of behaviour and responsibilities involve collaboration and cooperation through agreed upon morals and values. Knight fails to understand the meaning of civilization as the product of collective evolutionary conduct, and concludes the term is racist.
Knight also postulates that the public schooling system advocated by Ryerson established the framework for a violent relationship that fosters deviance in the case of the problem child.
Arguably, any conceivable framework for human behaviour might potentially result in deviance on the part of some but to conclude that Ryerson was somehow the architect of a framework with hierarchical intent for such deviance involves a remarkable leap of imagination (Knight, 2019).
Knight is also critical of the way in which Ryerson equates civilization with the Methodist Christian ethic. Says Knight:
As Ryerson builds this definition of Christian education, he establishes negative, non- Christian elements (the uncivilized, lower-propensity-driven, racialized past)… Ryerson believed that if everyone was educated/Christian enough, the state would reach a higher level of civilization and all conflict (including religious conflict) would cease (pps35- 36).
The reality was that in Ryerson’s time, all forms of education were provided by various Christian denominations. Moreover, the Methodists, unlike others, went to considerable lengths to incorporate familiar customs and ways of learning among the Indigenous. As Maclean points out, having themselves embraced the Methodist faith, the Indigenous wanted the kind of schools Ryerson and his fellow Indigenous Methodist minister Peter Jones advocated which was to enable their youth to learn the fundamentals of farming in addition to basic literacy skills in reading, writing and arithmetic. In fact a school was established by the Ojibway of the Credit even before Ryerson arrived to live among them in his youth as a young minister. He subsequently spent two years in their community solidifying a lifelong friendship with Peter Jones and his brother who was the teacher (McDonald, 2023) To simply ignore these historical facts is symptomatic of postmodernist rationale. Knight also argues for a fundamental right to freedom from participation within a state’s agreed upon rules and regulations, thus suggesting a preference for chaos. Democracy that includes social justice and civil liberties is based on the fundamental principle that we must obey the rules that we collectively give ourselves. Otherwise we pave the way for tyranny. In a democratic state the people are the government. Egerton Ryerson can hardly be faulted for wanting to offer the illiterate, vagrant, frequently alcohol soaked and destitute, a chance to participate in the planned social order of the day. Such afflictions among both the settlers and the Indigenous in the early part of the 19th century were considerable. As an alternative to the destructive influences of alcohol addiction, Ryerson emphasized conversion to Methodist, Christian devotion. Secular rehabilitation programs such as “Alcoholics Anonymous” simply did not exist at the time. And there is also evidence that Christian teaching helped to reduce violence in the community.
To imply that Ryerson was trying to establish a personally crafted response without any consideration given to the future welfare of the Indigenous youth is a postmodernist perspective that simply distorts the historical record. The residential schools of the late 19th and mid 20th
centuries unfolded long after Ryerson’s death in 1882. In the midst of great social upheaval, at a time when only privileged families could afford the luxury of schooling for their sons, Ryerson’s goal was to set up opportunities for free education for all families and support the establishment of Methodist mission schools for the Indigenous (Webster, Wesley & Daniher; 1941).
Timko and Kubyshkin argue that, throughout his career, Ryerson insisted upon a distinctly “Canadian” ethos as a dominant feature in the public education curriculum he advocated (2016). His life-long friendship with fellow Ojibwa Methodist Minister and promoter of manual labour and day schools, Peter Jones and his brother John Jones, who was a school teacher, is an example of his support for Indigenous education (McDonald, 2022). As editor of The Christian Guardian he gave considerable coverage to Methodist mission schools for Indigenous children. The kind of schools that the Jones brothers and he believed in, as a progressive option for the future prosperity of the Indigenous population, ultimately failed because of lack of government funding and support.(Maclean, 2002,2005)
Academic Complicity in the Assault on Truth
To vilify Ryerson’s perspective based on standards that have developed over a period of almost 200 years is misleading if not dishonest. Despite lip service being given to the concepts of truth and reconciliation, there has been a careless disregard for the facts – that is how, when and who actually ran the residential schools for Indigenous people, which were set up long after his death, as well as the existing social conditions at the time. Remarkably, the truth about who was responsible was deemed irrelevant on the basis of current campus priorities for healing needs at the university. The ‘Standing Strong’ Task Force concluded that the university could not “continue to celebrate Ryerson in the face of those who [were] wounded” (Ryerson University,2021). The accurate historical record of an earlier time was re-configured to serve the perceived requirements of the present. Is reconciliation really possible with such distortion of the truth?
The task of incorporating isolated and marginalized cultures into modern society remains a perennial dilemma. Indeed, sustaining the meaning of the word civilized within the context of caring regardless of colour or cultural background and respect for the rule of law is more widely becoming a losing battle. Frances Widdowson, exiled associate professor within the Department of Economics, Justice and Policy at Mount Royal University in Calgary, tried to make the case for integration rather than ethnic separation. Despite having studied indigenization initiatives for over 20 years, she lost her job in the process (Collins, 2022) .
In his book, University Commons Divided, President Emeritus of the University of Saskatchewan, Peter MacKinnon, points out that the provision of a platform for debate, discussion and collaboration is essential to the very idea of a university. Such space is its central mission, which is, “seeking truth through advancing knowledge, learning, and discovery.
Because”, says MacKinnon, “it is essential, it must be robust, and safety within the commons must be assured, though comfort within it cannot be.” (Mackinnon, 2018, Preface). That is, safety within the context of freedom from physical violence and injury. Any emphasis on the need for “safetyism” equated with comfort and familiarity in learning environments is, antithetical to the facilitation of higher learning (Collins, 2022). Meric Gertler, President of the University of Toronto, points out that a broad and diverse range of people, experiences and perspectives must thrive on university campuses. Wrestling with new or uncomfortable ideas in the shared pursuit of knowledge sparks understanding and innovation (Gertler, 2022).
The Current Popularity of Postmodern Interpretation
Distortions of the truth are not new and, in recent decades, have been accelerated by technological advances. They have become increasingly pervasive and common place throughout society and well beyond the university environment itself. Ever since the rise and popularity of propaganda, which helped to mobilize public support for military action in World War II, public relations and advertising messages have pervaded our collective lives and clouded our judgement. The war in Ukraine has underscored the power of propaganda, exemplified by the country’s media savvy president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who in the very early days of the war, so effectively counteracted disinformation from Russia. Enhanced by Facebook photos and twitter, his impassioned speeches about the value of democracy won hearts the world over.
But, spin and carefully crafted variations of meaning to serve vested interests vying for power were part of mainstream media long before the arrival of the internet and amplifying potential of social media. In his book The Hidden Persuaders, written over half a century ago about the misleading messages in the field of advertising and marketing, Vance Packard warned against threats to our collective well- being (Crispin Miller, 2007). The need to discern the difference in media of one kind or another between education, news and propaganda has grown, given the ever widening volume of information and multiple ways in which it is disseminated. In response, critical theorists have advocated “reading between the lines,” spawning media and digital literacy courses, to foster better understandings of meanings and intent (Duncan, 1988, Dyson, 2021 pp.19-147). While some progress has been made over the years, the perceived need for them has fluctuated among policy makers and has, too often, been drowned out in a sea of information overload or competing educational priorities.
Political strategists have long advocated that we create our own reality by our actions and interpretation of events. Philosopher, Mark Kingwell, at the University of Toronto regards this as only a small step from:
wacky, internet-fed conspiracy theories such as Pizzagate or continuing vaccine horror stories to false-flag military operations, edited photos and censored newspapers. The examples may be new, but the problem isn’t” Kingswell, 2022).
All ideological fudging, says Kingwell, involves slight but sly shifts in emphasis rather than outright lies.
The debasement of language involving jargon, distortions and profanity has become established practice. Basic techniques for seasoned politicians and CEOs involve never admitting real guilt for errors or omissions. We have exaggeration in daily discourse, subtle evasion, dog whistles, deflection to other topics, misdirection, false equivalencies, slippery slopes, bad analogies, gas lighting and more. Anti-vaxxers are “vaccine hesitant, Fired coaches and disgraced politicians are “stepping away to spend more time with their families” (Globe, 2022). Accusations of harassment and abuse are carelessly hurled out at the slightest provocation where the court of public opinion precedes the right of the accused to a fair trial. (Goar, 2014).
Media Trends in Recent Decades
Over the years the mainstream media has reported on it all, zealously guarding their right to do so on the basis of freedom of expression with profit the overriding incentive. In the process, falsehoods have proliferated and added to the misinformation in an age of information overload. Media pundits, overwhelmed by the monster they helped unleash, are often duplicitous in their analysis of what matters and what doesn’t. In reactions to the distortions of truth emerging in and around the cult of Trump, it has been pointed out time and again that “words matter”. Yet too often media violence, as one example, in the form of either words or visual depictions, such as first person shooter video games where children are rewarded with points for blowing off the heads of their virtual enemies, is excused as “just entertainment”. Parroted also, is the well-worn argument that there is no conclusive evidence of actual harmful effects (Dyson, 2021). In policy making, principle has consistently taken a back seat to corporate profit. The long tail of postmodern thought has thwarted urgently needed policy development on a number of critical issues, such as, violence creep, climate change and more recently added to the list, the threat and promise of artificial intelligence. American scientists Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway discuss the process of manufacturing alternative facts in their book, Merchants of Doubt. How a handful of scientists obscured the truth on issues from tobacco smoke to global warming (2004).
Manifestation of Trends at Ryerson (TMU)
The growing number of present and former Ryerson University faculty members, alumni, members of the media, students and concerned members of the public at large who have come together as the “Friends of Egerton Ryerson” have joined the public discourse in pushing back against this steady erosion of our democratic institutions (friendsofegertonryerson.ca; Milke, 2023). The failures on the part of the University administration to refute the distortions of facts surrounding the life and work of Egerton Ryerson have resulted in a determination to restore his reputation on the basis of sound, scholarly research. Various briefs that were presented in opposition to the removal of the statue of Ryerson and the name change, ignored by the University administration and dismissed in the Standing Strong Task Force’s recommendations, have subsequently been suppressed and inaccessible. Regrettably, ongoing concerns among faculty, staff and students within the university environment surrounding these developments have tended to be withheld amid fears of potential job loss, tenure rejection and the like.
The circumstances leading up to and following the removal of Ryerson’s statue and the decision to change the name of the university are not unique. They resonate not only with those of Francis Widdowson at the Mount Royal University of Calgary but with those of Professor Verushka Lieutenant-Duval at the University of Ottawa. Lieutenant-Duval was fired in 2020 for use of the n-word during a lecture to illustrate the concept of subversive resignification: the process by which an insult is re-appropriated by those it is meant to harm. Although the word was used in a strictly academic context, some students complained about her use of such an offensive term. Stories of similar controversial eruptions emerged on Quebec campuses prompting the formation of a commission appointed by the government of Quebec in (2020) to study the state of academic freedom at the province’s universities and to recommend ways to protect it.
The report resulted in a call for the Quebec government to enshrine the principle of academic freedom in a new law that would require universities to protect faculty from suffering the same fate and treatment as did Professor Lieutenant-Duval. It said that classrooms, in their pedagogical context, cannot be considered “safe spaces” particularly when this is illustrated by
the existence and maintenance of an environment exempt from the confrontation of ideas or questioning. It was further reported that 60 percent of faculty avoided using certain words in class, while 35 percent avoided certain topics entirely. Many described a suffocating atmosphere on campus where fear of being singled out for verbal transgressions reigns and where administrators refuse to stand up for them.
It was concluded that the practice of self-censorship is having an impact on university research, inhibiting many faculty from doing their jobs freely and that all ideas and all subjects should be debated in a rational manner within universities (Yakabuski, 2021). In June of 2022, the Quebec government passed a bill enshrining this principle. Said Higher Education Minister Danielle McCann:
Bill 32 responds to all of the Cloutier Commission’s recommendations and incorporates some of its advice. It defines “university academic freedom” and ensures that institutions have a specific policy to recognize, promote and protect it. Finally, the law ensures that these institutions are accountable for the implementation of their policy. Quebec is positioning itself as a forerunner in university academic freedom and the fight against self-censorship. Very concretely, thanks to this bill, all subjects can be discussed and all words can be spoken in an educational context. I hope other jurisdictions will follow our model… Universities… must provide an environment for learning, discussion and debate. (The Canadian Press, 2022).
Clearly, these measures called for by Minister McCann should be adopted by other provincial and territorial governments. Protecting academic freedom has broader implications for society. The ideas that emerge on university campuses inevitably percolate beyond the ivory tower, making it directly linked to democracy.
It is a dangerous slippery slope where individual interpretations of reality thwart and undermine the wider public interest. In most democratic societies, opposing views which end up being arbitrated in a court of law are resolved with decisions determined by historical precedents. Ultimately, consensus is reached on the basis of a widely held belief in the process. What happens if every person is entitled to his/her/their individual concept of reality, or freedom or civil rights and free to reject interpretation according to the rule of law? The result is anarchy. The accusations leveled against Egerton Ryerson are a sad irony for an idealist like him, who believed that to employ our intellectual and moral powers according to the principles of reason and truth is the great purpose of our existence (Timko & Kubyshkin, 2016)). For the sake of the wider public interest, a much more thorough assessment of Ryerson’s life and legacy is essential. Individually created perceptions of what he stood for are eroding the time honoured principles of reason and truth based on factual evidence. It behooves us all to help turn the tide. Standing idly by in these circumstances undermines the concept of justice itself.
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