Anti-Intellectualism and Academic Freedom in the US

[Yuwipi Woman]

There's always been a thread of anti-intellectualism in the US, but lately I'm seeing more heat on the fire. I've seen people on Facebook, for instance, labeling anyone with a degree "an elite." This was followed by ""the elites" want communism." The elites want to steal from the us regular joes." Etc. I know there's a relationship between attending university and becoming more liberal, but the right have decided this is due to "indoctrination." Its not due to indoctrination. Its due to being exposed to people from all over the country and the world and finding out that they're real people and not cardboard cutouts. People you've been told to be afraid of most of your life turn out to be decent people, just with different ideas.

With that in mind, its inevitable that some lawmaker will decide to put a stop to all that. I give you Florida Gov., Ron DeSantis, future candidate for President:

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on Tuesday signed legislation requiring the state's public colleges and universities to survey students, professors, and staff members about their political views in an effort to crack down on intellectual "indoctrination" on campuses.

DeSantis, a potential 2024 presidential contender who's closely aligned with former President Donald Trump, threatened to cut funding from state universities that he determines don't promote "intellectual diversity."

The bill says the annual surveys would assess "intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity" and determine "the extent to which competing ideas and perspectives are presented" and whether students, professors, and staffers "feel free to express their beliefs and viewpoints on campus and in the classroom."

The law, effective July 1, demands that students "be shown diverse ideas and opinions, including those that they may disagree with or find uncomfortable," the state's Department of Education said.

University professors and education experts in Florida have expressed concerns that the law would allow the state government to interfere with teaching; politicize faculty hiring, firing, and promotions; and stifle faculty and student speech.

"I worry that this bill will force a fearful self-consciousness that is not as much about learning and debate as about appearances and playing into an outside audience," Cathy Boehme, a researcher at the Florida Education Association, told the Miami Herald in April.

DeSantis said on Tuesday that he knew "a lot of parents" who were concerned that their kids would be "indoctrinated" in college.

"It used to be thought that a university campus was a place where you'd be exposed to a lot of different ideas," the governor said. "Unfortunately, now the norm is really these are more intellectually repressive environments. You have orthodoxies that are promoted, and other viewpoints are shunned or even suppressed."

The law is part of a broader right-wing drive to push back on progressive influences in education. Republican lawmakers across the country have pushed to prohibit the teaching of The New York Times' 1619 Project, about the history of slavery, and of critical race theory, both of which have been banned in Florida's public schools.

The governor signed two other education bills on Tuesday mandating new civics and "patriotism" education requirements in Florida's K-12 schools, including teaching about the "evils" of communist and totalitarian governments.

Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls, a Republican, said at the press conference that Florida's kids needed to be taught "about loving America" and "what our real history is and what our legacy is."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs a law punishing student 'indoctrination' at public universities and threatens budget cuts

DeSantis said public universities that the state government determines to be "hotbeds for stale ideology" were "not worth tax dollars."

news.yahoo.com

It contains a lot of high minded rhetoric about the diversity of ideas, but follows with this "The governor signed two other education bills on Tuesday mandating new civics and "patriotism" education requirements in Florida's K-12 schools, including teaching about the "evils" of communist and totalitarian governments." In other words, its mandating indoctrination.

Basically, this appears to be an attempt to put fear into university administrators and faculty that if their students end up being liberals, there will be cuts in funding to your university and other measures taken to make sure they graduate good conservatives. I know a university professor of criminology who is afraid to have class discussions now because they inevitably lead to discussions about the law and politics, which result in complaints about indoctrination. Even if this doesn't result in a change in the political tide, it diminishes the value of education when you can't discuss current, or even, historical events.

I can see a lot of other states trying to follow. If my university presents me with a political questionaire, I'll refuse to answer it. Its blatantly unconstitutional.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

It feels like a very similar situation here at the moment. The UK has also long had an anti-intellectual thread, and Johnson's government epitomises it.

 

[steeplejack]

The British laugh at everybody, it's a default setting. "Intellectuals" are an easy target for that. There's never been a public intellectual category in Scotland or England that you have say, in France. Taking the piss and not taking yourself too seriously are skills to fake, if not actually to have. Also passing yourself off as lacking intelligence when the opposite is true, for fear of offending anybody. It's really tedious.

That said I think we are some way away from the campus culture that Yuwipi Woman describes in UK higher education. There have been very hamfisted attempts to interfere, such as a junior ministerial gimp demanding a list of English university courses covering Brexit to weed out ideological heresy, a few years back, and an attempt to prevent staff presenting ideas from the anticapitalist spectrum which isn't going anywhere. More damaging is the defunding of humanties and arts courses covered up as some sort of "investing money in strategically important science and engineering courses" but is a naked culture-war attack. But these initiatives are so far engendering significant pushback from staff and VCs, where they apply, in England.

Horrifying though to see in the OP academic freedom being actively suppressed and legislated against in the name of, er, academic freedom.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I think it's similar here in many ways. This tory government and Trumpist US Republicans often play moves from the same playbook.

This really isn't so different:

Universities to comply with free speech duties or face sanctions

It's made crystal clear what this is aimed at by the two examples given, and who is going to be in control of deciding what is or isn't freedom of speech (a govt-appointed 'Director of Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom' is more than a bit Orwellian):

A new Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom will sit on the board of the Office for Students, with responsibility for investigations of breaches of the new freedom of speech duties, including a new complaints scheme for students, staff and visiting speakers who have suffered loss due to a breach.

The Bill comes in light of examples of a ‘chilling effect’ on students, staff and invited speakers feeling unable to speak out. In one incident, Bristol Middle East Forum was charged almost £500 in security costs to invite the Israeli Ambassador to speak at an event.

In another example, over one hundred academics signed a letter expressing public opposition to Professor Nigel Biggar’s research project ‘Ethics and Empire’, because he had said that British people should have ‘pride as well as shame’ in the Empire.

 

[killer b]

anyone who imagines this stuff isn't coming hard at UK academic institutions is fooling themselves. It's just not really hit yet.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

That said I think we are some way away from the campus culture that Yuwipi Woman describes in UK higher education. There have been very hamfisted attempts to interfere, such as a junior ministerial gimp demanding a list of English university courses covering Brexit to weed out ideological heresy, a few years back, and an attempt to prevent staff presenting ideas from the anticpaitalist spectrum which isn't going anywhere. More damaging is the defunding of humanties and arts courses covered up as some sort of "investing money in strategically important science and engineering courses" but is a naked culture-war attack. But these initiatives are so far engendering significant pushback from staff and VCs, where they apply, in England.[/quote\

This is happening at my state University. They've defunded most of the liberal arts programs such as the classics and art departments, and shifted that money toward the business college and IT degrees. They eliminated graduate degrees in several arts programs, with some of them being saved only because alumni stepped in with the funding. When I went looking for a library science degree program, I found that there wasn't one in the state. However, they had recently started a golf management program.

<edited to add>
They recently passed a state law removing the requirements to have trained librarians in public schools.

Horrifying though to see in the OP academic freedom being actively suppressed and legislated against in the name of, er, academic freedom.

Its positively Orwellian.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Vital to have trained golf managers to manage golf, though, it seems.

What a world.

 

[Jeff Robinson]

anyone who imagines this stuff isn't coming hard at UK academic institutions is fooling themselves. It's just not really hit yet.

It's already begun at Leicester uni. At least 9 lecturers sacked, not because of the quality of their research or teaching or admin, but because senior management deemed their work in political economy and critical management studies to be not in keeping with their 'strategic priorities'. Basically they were sacked for purely neoliberal ideological reasons. Yet surprisingly not a squeak from the vermin media or government who are apparently so concerned about 'academic freedom'.

 

[spring-peeper]

copied from broadband thread

 

[Brainaddict]

anyone who imagines this stuff isn't coming hard at UK academic institutions is fooling themselves. It's just not really hit yet.

I actually talked about this to some academics in a seminar the other day. Didn't go down that well. It felt like they haven't been paying enough attention to know what's going to hit them yet.

 

[killer b]

I actually talked about this to some academics in a seminar the other day. Didn't go down that well. It felt like they haven't been paying enough attention to know what's going to hit them yet.

The academics I know are all savagely overworked and totally alienated from anything outside their immediate practice by the last 15 months tbh. But yes, they don't seem particularly aware of what's coming for them.

 

[Brainaddict]

The academics I know are all savagely overworked and totally alienated from anything outside their immediate practice by the last 15 months tbh. But yes, they don't seem particularly aware of what's coming for them.

I did a sad emoji then I thought that some good might come from the destruction of the academy as a retreat for liberals and lefties. I probably have mixed feelings about it. It can in theory be a sheltering umbrella to some interesting thinkers but it mostly seems like a vast pit of vacuous bullshit that sucks the energy and real-world-engagement abilities out of everyone who works in it.

Edit: sorry not sorry to all those who work in it

 

[Dystopiary]

There's some alarming stuff about manipulation and control of the US electoral system in this piece that's more suited to another thread, but thought it was worth posting here considering the bib.

The Republican Party has turned fascist – it is now the most dangerous threat in the world | Patrick Cockburn

"It is worth listing the chief characteristics of fascist movements in order to assess how far they are now shared by the Republicans. Exploitation of ethnic, religious and cultural hatreds is probably the most universal feature of fascism. Others include a demagogic leader with a cult of personality who makes messianic but vague promises to deliver a golden future; appeals to law-and-order but a practical contempt for legality; the use, manipulation and ultimate marginalisation of democratic procedures; a willingness to use physical force; demonising the educated elite – and the media in particular; shady relations with plutocrats seeking profit from regime change.

One by one these boxes have been ticked by the Republicans until the list is complete."

 

[steeplejack]

It's already begun at Leicester uni. At least 9 lecturers sacked, not because of the quality of their research or teaching or admin, but because senior management deemed their work in political economy and critical management studies to be not in keeping with their 'strategic priorities'. Basically they were sacked for purely neoliberal ideological reasons. Yet surprisingly not a squeak from the vermin media or government who are apparently so concerned about 'academic freedom'.

Yes this was very significant. It's really going to bite in England (Scotland, Wales & NI a further behind on the 'stop academic freedom in the name of academic freedom' agenda, and it's not quite as certain that this 'culture war' will mutate in the same way beyond specifically English academia).

Some academics don't want to hear about this as it doesn't directly bite them. But many others are suffering from a workload that leaves them utterly unable to think about anything beyind the end of their nose, presently, it's true. Fifteen months on zoom and I am absolutely at the end of my tether. And I'm so far one of the lucky ones in the pandemic.

 

[two sheds]

Bit of a tangent but I thought this was interesting:

It's Time to Correct the Alamo Story

So much of what we “know” about the battle at the Alamo is provably wrong

time.com

Imagine if the U.S. were to open interior Alaska for colonization and, for whatever reason, thousands of Canadian settlers poured in, establishing their own towns, hockey rinks and Tim Hortons stores. When the U.S. insists they follow American laws and pay American taxes, they refuse. When the government tries to collect taxes, they shoot and kill American soldiers. When law enforcement goes after the killers, the colonists, backed by Canadian financing and mercenaries, take up arms in open revolt.
...
“If you’re looking at the Alamo as a kind of state religion, this is the original sin,” says San Antonio art historian Ruben Cordova. “We killed Davy Crockett.”

It’s a lesson many Latinos in the state don’t learn until mandatory Texas history classes taught in seventh grade. “The way I explain it,” says Andres Tijerina, a retired history professor in Austin, “is Mexican-Americans [in Texas] are brought up, even in the first grade, singing the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance and all that, and it’s not until the seventh grade that they single us out as Mexicans. And from that point on, you realize you’re not an American. You’re a Mexican, and always will be. The Alamo story takes good, solid, loyal little American kids and it converts them into Mexicans.”

 

[petee]

those rightwingers seem to have no problem with ted cruz (princeton and harvard), d. trump (penn business degree), josh hawley (stanford and yale and england's St Paul's School in between). many others too (the bushes have been yale for generations but they're too liberal, see). they present it as "we're the smart ones, we got through those places despite the fact that we're [whatever]."

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

You can see some of what's going on with this video of Joint Chief's Gen. Milley being questioned by Matt Gaetz because the military is too "woke".




Beau of the Fifth Column's response:




I don't suppose it ever occurred to people like Gaetz to read a book just to find out how someone else thinks That would require a tiny bit of empathy and the willingness to actually read a book.

 

[Jeff Robinson]

Yes this was very significant. It's really going to bite in England (Scotland, Wales & NI a further behind on the 'stop academic freedom in the name of academic freedom' agenda, and it's not quite as certain that this 'culture war' will mutate in the same way beyond specifically English academia).

Some academics don't want to hear about this as it doesn't directly bite them. But many others are suffering from a workload that leaves them utterly unable to think about anything beyind the end of their nose, presently, it's true. Fifteen months on zoom and I am absolutely at the end of my tether. And I'm so far one of the lucky ones in the pandemic.

It's unbelievable. The situation is dire in Liverpool and Sheffield too. Like you say, after a truly miserable year it really is rubbing salt into the wound to treat the staff as expendable trash for purely ideological and union-busting reasons. All academics (not just critical ones) are vulnerable if senior management (most of whom aren't even academics) get to call the shots in determining what research is a sackable offence.

 

[yield]

Why didn't Cornel West get tenure at Harvard?

 

[petee]

Why didn't Cornel West get tenure at Harvard?

but he hasn't suffered.

 

[spring-peeper]

Saw this and wanted to share





I read it as, "let's white wash our history"

Canada is starting to find unmarked graves of First Nation children who died at the residential schools.
It was yet another atempt of genicide.
It happened and every Canadian should be ashamed.



The us should recongnize that they are not perfect.
This acknowledge meant does not mean they are evil. Wrong decisions were made.

 

[petee]

the 4th passed with no comment here so I'll just add this ...