November 3, 1994
Professor Itzkoff publishes controversial book, gives Round Table talk
Smith College Professor of Education Seymour Itzkoff published a book called The Decline of Intelligence in America: A Strategy for National Renewal. In it, Itzkoff linked intelligence with genetics, claiming that the United States was in decline because more people from the “unintelligent” lower classes were having children than from the “intelligent” upper classes. He claimed his arguments weren’t racist or otherwise problematic, but many Smith students disagreed, leading to Itzkoff giving a Round Table talk at Duckett House about the views he expressed in his book.
The full Sophian article on the book’s publication and the talk can be found here (1, 2, 9).
Sophian letters to the editor can be found here and here.
[Last updated on October 31, 2018]