Book Review: David Horowitz’s Last Gasp on Higher Ed

BY AARON BARLOW The act of teaching is political. Yet Americans like to pretend that its schools are removed from the public sphere, that they focus on knowledge and skills, nothing more. Rightwing firebrand (though his spark has dimmed against the bright flames of newer agitators like Steve Bannon and Milo Yiannopoulos) David Horowitz has…

Indulging Conservatives?

BY EVA VON DASSOW Guest blogger Eva von Dassow is Associate Professor of Classical and Near Eastern Studies and AAUP Chapter Chair at the University of Minnesota. Since when is demanding that public funds be expended to indulge your wishes a conservative idea? The student group calling itself the Berkeley Patriot and the media company of…

The Real “Snowflakes”

BY HANK REICHMAN I thought I might write something in response to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ speech this week at Georgetown University, but then I read Dahlia Lithwick’s take, “The Eggshell Attorney General,” and figured I had little to add.  Here are her first three paragraphs, but the entire piece is worth reading: Almost every…

Harvard Does It Again

BY HANK REICHMAN Fresh from the embarrassment of rescinding a fellowship to whistleblower Chelsea Manning while welcoming disgraced Trumpers Corey Lewandowski and Sean Spicer, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government has again privileged spokespersons for the right while denying their opponents a voice.  Thursday and Friday the school will host a conference on “The Future of…

Speech Is an Acquired Taste

BY JONATHAN MARKS Guest blogger Jonathan Marks teaches political philosophy at Ursinus College. John Villasenor, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute is only the latest commentator to worry aloud about our college young, who don’t understand or value freedom of expression. A survey he conducted contains familiar bad news. A majority of respondents holds…