Sixth Circuit Court decision, Thapar, Circuit Judge: “Traditionally, American universities have been beacons ofintellectual diversity and academic freedom. They have prided themselves on being forumswhere controversial ideas are discussed and debated. And they have tried not to stifle debate bypicking sides. But Shawnee State chose a different route: It punished a professor for his speechon […]
Compulsory pronoun use in academia? Read More »
A new episode of my podcast series, produced by Possibly Correct out of Toronto. Audio: iTunes Stitcher YouTube Google Play Spotify Topics: The challenge of extreme cases // Hitler’s Mein Kampf in particular // Joke: A German asks how many Poles it takes to change a lightbulb // Hard questions related to the Nazi history // Can
Censor the Hitlers [Open College series] Read More »
… that it’s come to this: Politicians feel they can/must nudge them or coerce them into basic intellectual civility. The President of the United States uses the financial big stick: “Many have become increasingly hostile to the First Amendment and free speech. Under the guise of speech codes, safe spaces, and trigger warnings, these universities
Universities should be deeply embarrassed … Read More »
Our head politician wants to use political leverage to fix higher education’s semi-censorship problem. Universities should be ashamed that it has come to this — those universities, at least, that do not have healthy free-speech cultures. Of course politicians already use their power — financial threats and regulatory compulsion — to make universities do what
Politicians Should *Not* Enforce Free Speech at Universities Read More »
I’ll be speaking at St. John’s University on March 27. My topic is “Safe and/or Free Speech in Postmodern Times.” Abstract: The liberal case for free speech won out in the modern world — but it has been challenged strongly, not only by traditional conservatives but also by the postmodern left. Hate speech, micro-aggressions, safe spaces,
Free and/or Safe Speech in Postmodern Times — upcoming talk in New York Read More »
For some years outside my office door, I’ve had posted this excerpt from the American Association of University Professors Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure (1915): “The university teacher, in giving instruction upon controversial matters, while he is under no obligation to hide his own opinion under a mountain of equivocal verbiage,
Professors who deserve their positions Read More »
My article was published recently at The Savvy Street. It was first published as two separate columns in The Good Life series as “Is Republishing Hitler’s Mein Kampf the Correct Decision?” and “Is Free Speech Dead in Universities?” The articles were also translated into Portuguese by Matheus Pacini as “Republicar Mein Kampf é a decisão correta?”
Hitler and the Death of Free Speech Read More »
Christopher Hitchens has died. Here is a brief profile at Vanity Fair. Here his is at his best in this rousing, witty, and impassioned defense of free speech:
Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011 Read More »