Gender Studies’ Value Is Under Question—And for Good Reason

Jan 30, 2019 · · No Comments on Gender Studies’ Value Is Under Question—And for Good Reason

“Class discussions trend towards group-therapy sessions,” wrote Toni Airaksinen in 2016 for Quillette. At the time, she was studying at Barnard College and described moving from an initial infatuation with gender studies to seeing it as an “absurd intellectual alcove where objective truth is subordinate to academic theories used as political propaganda.” This lack of … Continue reading “Gender Studies’ Value Is Under Question—And for Good Reason”

Faculty in Denial about Own Role in Decline of Humanities

Jun 20, 2018 · · No Comments on Faculty in Denial about Own Role in Decline of Humanities

If you want to see one example of why a new populism has emerged in American universities in the last 10 years, take a look at a statement issued last week by the Association of University Professors and the Association of American Colleges and Universities. The incapacity of the experts and professionals who wrote the … Continue reading “Faculty in Denial about Own Role in Decline of Humanities”

Defining Faculty Roles: In Defense of the Activist-Scholar

Apr 27, 2018 · · No Comments on Defining Faculty Roles: In Defense of the Activist-Scholar

Editor’s note: This is the third of a three-part series on faculty roles in higher education. Part I by Fabio Rojas is here and Part II by Jay Schalin is here. Should we allow scholars to be activists? Fabio Rojas (“Scholarship First, Activism Second”) and Jay Schalin (“Scholarship Only, Activism on Your Own Time”) have offered various … Continue reading “Defining Faculty Roles: In Defense of the Activist-Scholar”

Academic Freedom in an Age of Political Correctness

Sep 28, 2016 · · 2 Comments on Academic Freedom in an Age of Political Correctness

In 2010, a seemingly insignificant event in a far-off land caught my eye. The Israeli academic world was having a fracas over the actions of “post-Zionist” faculty that raised important questions about the principle of academic freedom. Briefly, Zionism is support for a religious Jewish state; post–Zionism refers to the desire for Zionist Israel to … Continue reading “Academic Freedom in an Age of Political Correctness”