History has always been contested. After all, whoever controls the past controls the future and whoever controls the present controls the past, or so George Orwell once famously put it. The latest example is the brouhaha raised by some conservatives over the College Board’s rather modest revision of the “curriculum framework” for high school Advanced…
A few days ago I posted a brief piece, “Which Banned Book Are You?“, that linked to a quiz posted by librarians at Columbus State Community College to promote the annual Banned Books Week, which runs through tomorrow. My post has since had over 5,000 visits and has been the most visited post on this…
Here’s a creative but effective educational and organizing tool that our colleagues in the AAUP chapter at Front Range Community College in Colorado have published and which merits the broadest distribution: The Adjunct Cookbook, described as “48 pages of foodbank-friendly concoctions,” including “No Bucks Coffee Drinks,” “The Frappes of Wrath,” as well as “high-fat,…
On Friday Judge Curtis Karnow refused to halt the October 27 trial that will determine if the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) properly evaluated City College of San Francisco (CCSF) before voting to revoke its accreditation. (Links to my previous posts on the CCSF accreditation controversy will be found at the conclusion…
Yesterday, Inside Higher Ed published a provocative article, “A House Divided,” suggesting that attitudes toward the summary dismissal of controversial professor Steven Salaita by the University of Illinois may reflect the “enduring power” of C.P. Snow’s famous “two cultures” thesis. Snow’s argument was that the academic world contains two distinctive and often conflicting cultures, that…
In recognition of Banned Books Week, September 21-27, librarians at Columbus State Community College (CSCC) in Ohio have developed this quiz which playfully helps you learn which banned book bests fits your personality! Try it here: http://www.playbuzz.com/columbusstatelibrary10/which-banned-book-are-you CSCC is one of seven organizations to win Banned Books Week grants from the Freedom to Read Foundation’s…
On September 17, 2011, three years ago today, protesters gathered in downtown Manhattan intending to Occupy Wall Street (OWS). They ended up in nearby Zucotti Park, where they remained until forcibly evicted by police two months later. The Wall Street action inspired similar Occupy movements in dozens of cities across the country, including on some…
The following is an op-ed piece prepared by the Berkeley Faculty Association, which was published today in the Daily Californian, an independent student-run newspaper that covers both the University of California, Berkeley campus and the city of Berkeley. This fall, the campus celebrates the achievements of the 1964 student movement that made Berkeley famous for…
Should instructors allow students in their classes to use electronic media devices — laptops, tablets, smartphones — in class? That question has often been a hot one among teaching faculty and opinions vary widely. Recently Clay Shirky, who teaches telecommunications and journalism at New York University, decided after many years to ban the devices from…
Yesterday I posted a statement by the Council of University of California Faculty Associations (CUCFA), issued in response to a September 5 message to the UC Berkeley campus from Chancellor Nicholas Dirks that called “civility” and free speech “two sides of a single coin.” Also yesterday Dirks sent an email message to faculty, staff and…