BY WENDY LYNNE LEE Guest blogger Wendy Lynne Lee is a professor of Philosophy at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. On the morning after the 2016 election of Donald Trump many of us were bleary; some were despairing, and I was both. But I was also clear-headed and I understood then, just as I do now,…
BY JOHN K. WILSON Earlier this month, Dixie State University (DSU) in Utah announced the suspension and planned termination of music department chair Glenn Webb and director of vocal activities Ken Peterson. But the reasons for this extreme action are quite dubious, and the violations of academic freedom, due process, and DSU policies are alarming.…
POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN The following is from the website France 24: The dean and a professor at Montpellier University law school were taken into police custody on Wednesday, suspected of taking part in a violent attack on student protesters last week. The two men have since been suspended from their duties. Student protesters occupied…
BY HANK REICHMAN I’m often asked whether the AAUP is as willing to defend the academic freedom and due process rights of right-wing faculty members as we are of liberals and leftists, with whom most of our members tend to be more sympathetic. The answer is that we are and have done so repeatedly throughout…
BY AARON BARLOW One of the greatest examples of a reaction to totalitarianism is comedian Charlie Chaplin’s film The Great Dictator (1940). This very funny—when it is not tragic—movie ends with a speech resonating even in today’s political milieu. Here’s a bit from it: The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we…
BY CHRISTOPHER NEWFIELD The following is reposted with permission from the Remaking the University blog. Christopher Newfield is Professor of English at the University of California at Santa Barbara and a member of the Academe advisory board. Responding to Bulk Cuts in Qualitative Fields: the Case of Stevens Point, Part I By Christopher Newfield There…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH Several days ago, Sasha Ingber contributed an article to the Washington Post on how “Trump’s Presidency Has Prompted a New, Nationwide College Course on Why Democracies Collapse.” The course has been developed by Robert Balir, an assistant professor of political science at Brown University. A specialist in post-conflict security in Africa,…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH This is a photo taken in 1937 in Prague of a mechanism called an “elevator desk”: In a period in which Varidesks have become very popular and the emphasis on ergonomic design has become commonplace, this photo may seem very anachronistic. But, I have to admit that I find something absolutely…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH Writing for Inside Higher Ed, Scott Jaschik has reported on how an “Unusual Donor Agreement at UNLV Raises Questions about Fund-Raising and Governance”: Len Jessup is on his way out as president of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, after receiving unfavorable reviews from the system chancellor and clashing with…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH