--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Theory is taught so as to make the…" description: "\"Theory is taught so as to make the student believe that he or she can become a Marxist, a feminist, an Afrocentrist, or a deconstructionist with about ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/edward-said-6412_believe_theory-is-taught-so-as-to-make-the-stude_383697.jpg" --- # Theory is taught so as to make the student believe that he… ![“Theory is taught so as to make the student believe that he or she can become a Marxist, a feminist, an Afrocentrist, or a deconstructionist with about the same effort and commitment required in choosing items from a menu.” quote by Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/edward-said-6412_believe_theory-is-taught-so-as-to-make-the-stude_383697.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/edward-said-6412_believe_theory-is-taught-so-as-to-make-the-stude_383697.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/edward-said-6412_believe_theory-is-taught-so-as-to-make-the-stude_383697.jpg) > “Theory is taught so as to make the student believe that he or she can become a Marxist, a feminist, an Afrocentrist, or a deconstructionist with about the same effort and commitment required in choosing items from a menu.” [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Education often presents ideologies as interchangeable choices, minimizing their distinct commitments. **In simple terms:** Teaching treats complex ideas as menu options. Key Takeaway Critically assess each ideology before adopting. Themes education ideology critical thinking Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - college courses - political activism - media analysis - personal belief formation Key Concepts pluralism intellectual honesty Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you make about ideological choices? - How can you evaluate deeper commitments? A Different Perspective Simplifying ideologies can obscure their real-world implications. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Commitment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commitment/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Feminist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminist/) [Marxist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marxist/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) ## Related quotes > [We do not believe that the Marxist program, which embodies the continuity of the experience of the actual class struggle and real revolutions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-mandel/we-do-not-believe-that-the-marxist-program-which-embodies-the/) [Ernest Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-mandel/) > [When I tour, it's like, well, like a food tour as much as a comedy tour. I try to eat at all the weird…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/when-i-tour-it-s-like-well-like-a-food-tour-as-much-as-a-comedy-tour/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [Restaurants stress the protein. People read menu items left to right, with the protein first. I read descriptions right to left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-seaver/restaurants-stress-the-protein-people-read-menu-items-left-to-right/) [Barton Seaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-seaver/) > [Of all the items on the menu, soup is that which exacts the most delicate perfection and the strictest attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-escoffier/of-all-the-items-on-the-menu-soup-is-that-which-exacts-the-most/) [Auguste Escoffier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-escoffier/) > [I don't know why you'd go to a comedian and say, "You know what? You have a large menu of items, but this one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-williams/i-don-t-know-why-you-d-go-to-a-comedian-and-say-you-know-what-you/) [Brad Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-williams/) > [There's so much tragedy in people that we see every day that we don't have to make anything up. We don't have to invent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-drooker/there-s-so-much-tragedy-in-people-that-we-see-every-day-that-we-don-t/) [Eric Drooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-drooker/) > [In my family, we let our boys have a say in what veggie side they want for dinner that night. We list off a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-cora/in-my-family-we-let-our-boys-have-a-say-in-what-veggie-side-they-want/) [Cat Cora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-cora/) > [Fast food is popular because it's convenient, it's cheap, and it tastes good. But the real cost of eating fast food never appears on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schlosser/fast-food-is-popular-because-it-s-convenient-it-s-cheap-and-it-tastes/) [Eric Schlosser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schlosser/) > [Music licensing is a strange business to navigate, and all kinds of little things can drive a price up or down. It's completely fluid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-richardson/music-licensing-is-a-strange-business-to-navigate-and-all-kinds-of/) Liza Richardson > [Going out to eat is expensive. I was out at one restaurant and they didn't have prices on the menu. Just faces with different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-rudner/going-out-to-eat-is-expensive-i-was-out-at-one-restaurant-and-they/) [Rita Rudner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-rudner/) > [Respecting the dignity of a spectacular food means enjoying it at its best. Europeans celebrate the short season of abundant asparagus as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/respecting-the-dignity-of-a-spectacular-food-means-enjoying-it-at-its/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I walk out into a nature such as the old prophets and poets Menu, Moses, Homer, Chaucer, walked in. You may name it America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-walk-out-into-a-nature-such-as-the-old-prophets-and-poets-menu/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [We have a name," said Jace. "Magnes B-" "Shut up." Alec hissed, thwacking Jace with his closed menu. Jace looked injured. "Jesus," he rubbed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/we-have-a-name-said-jace-magnes-b-shut-up-alec-hissed-thwacking-jace/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [While it is becoming increasingly obvious that the fundamental architecture of a system has a profound Influence on the quality of its human factors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-m-branscomb/while-it-is-becoming-increasingly-obvious-that-the-fundamental/) [Lewis M. Branscomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-m-branscomb/) > [Babbo's menu is only four pages, but it's overwhelming - there are 20 different pastas in there, a lot of stuff. There is nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bastianich/babbo-s-menu-is-only-four-pages-but-it-s-overwhelming-there-are-20/) [Joe Bastianich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bastianich/) ## More by Edward Said > [Beginning is not only a kind of action. It is also a frame of mind, a kind of work, an attitude, a consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/beginning-is-not-only-a-kind-of-action-it-is-also-a-frame-of-mind-a/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [It's very hard, for example, to justify the thirty-four-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. It's very hard to justify 140 Israeli settlements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/it-s-very-hard-for-example-to-justify-the-thirty-four-year-occupation/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [ \[9/11\] was bloody-minded destruction for no other reason than to do it. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/9-11-was-bloody-minded-destruction-for-no-other-reason-than-to-do-it/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Look at situations as contingent, not as inevitable, look at them as the result of a series of historical choices made by men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/look-at-situations-as-contingent-not-as-inevitable-look-at-them-as/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [I was one of the first people in the Palestinian world, in the late 1970s, to say that there is no military option, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/i-was-one-of-the-first-people-in-the-palestinian-world-in-the-late/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Take a young man from Gaza living in the most horrendous conditions - most of it imposed by Israel - who straps dynamite around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/take-a-young-man-from-gaza-living-in-the-most-horrendous-conditions/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [ \[One task of intellectuals is\] to break down the stereotypes and reductive categories that are . . . limiting to human thought and communication. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/one-task-of-intellectuals-is-to-break-down-the-stereotypes-and/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [I have never known what is Arabic or English, or which one was really mine beyond any doubt. What I do know, however, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/i-have-never-known-what-is-arabic-or-english-or-which-one-was-really/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Every single empire in its official discourse has said that it is not like all the others, that its circumstances are special, that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/every-single-empire-in-its-official-discourse-has-said-that-it-is-not/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [ The just response to this terrible event \[9/11\] should be to go immediately to the world community, the United Nations. The rule of international… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/the-just-response-to-this-terrible-event-9-11-should-be-to-go/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Since when does a militarily occupied people have the responsibility for a peace movement?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/since-when-does-a-militarily-occupied-people-have-the-responsibility/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Refuse to allow yourself to become a vegetable that simply absorbs information, pre-packaged, pre-ideologized , because no message.. is anything but an ideological package…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/refuse-to-allow-yourself-to-become-a-vegetable-that-simply-absorbs/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [No cause, no God, no abstract idea can justify the mass slaughter of innocents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/no-cause-no-god-no-abstract-idea-can-justify-the-mass-slaughter-of/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [What we must eliminate are systems of representation that carry with them the authority which has become repressive because it doesn't permit or make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/what-we-must-eliminate-are-systems-of-representation-that-carry-with/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Part of the main plan of imperialism... is that we will give you your history, we will write it for you, we will re-order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/part-of-the-main-plan-of-imperialism-is-that-we-will-give-you-your/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) [Explore all 97 Edward Said quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Theory is taught so as to make the student believe that he or she can become a Marxist, a feminist, an Afrocentrist, or a deconstructionist with about the same effort and commitment required in choosing items from a menu.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Said" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/theory-is-taught-so-as-to-make-the-student-believe-that-he-or-she-can/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Believe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/theory-is-taught-so-as-to-make-the-student-believe-that-he-or-she-can/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/edward-said-6412_believe_theory-is-taught-so-as-to-make-the-stude_383697.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/edward-said-6412_believe_theory-is-taught-so-as-to-make-the-stude_383697.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/edward-said-6412_believe_theory-is-taught-so-as-to-make-the-stude_383697.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Theory is taught so as to make the student believe that he or she can become a Marxist, a feminist, an…” — Edward Said", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edward Said", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Theory is taught so as to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/theory-is-taught-so-as-to-make-the-student-believe-that-he-or-she-can/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/theory-is-taught-so-as-to-make-the-student-believe-that-he-or-she-can/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```