The Fora: A Higher Education Community

General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: downer on July 09, 2020, 07:09:24 AM

Title: Princeton letter on Anti-Blackness
Post by: downer on July 09, 2020, 07:09:24 AM
July 4 letter to the Princeton President (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfPmfeDKBi25_7rUTKkhZ3cyMICQicp05ReVaeBpEdYUCkyIA/viewform).

Coverage in Daily Princetonian: https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2020/07/princeton-350-faculty-anti-racist-curriculum-committees

Here is one clause that has got attention:
Quote11.  Constitute a committee composed entirely of faculty that would oversee the investigation and discipline of racist behaviors, incidents, research, and publication on the part of faculty, following a protocol for grievance and appeal to be spelled out in Rules and Procedures of the Faculty. Guidelines on what counts as racist behavior, incidents, research, and publication will be authored by a faculty committee for incorporation into the same set of rules and procedures.

Does this clash with academic freedom?
Title: Re: Princeton letter on Anti-Blackness
Post by: Ruralguy on July 09, 2020, 07:16:21 AM
It could.

Title: Re: Princeton letter on Anti-Blackness
Post by: mahagonny on July 09, 2020, 08:49:40 AM
Given that this would end up in court if agreed to, in my opinion (of interest to absolutely no one, most likely)  they should be required to define their terms, like for example, 'racism.' You know, like a lawyer has to.
I went to a faculty development seminar some time ago where a faculty member told us that the white American ruling class has brainwashed working class white people into thinking we are superior to black people. He thinks of this as a forgiving stance I guess, because it means gullible stupid people like me can't be blamed for our bigotry, or can only be blamed so much (though I don't believe what he claims I believe.) But a color-blind definition of racism could easily allege it against him, if he sorts white people into two groups, the sinister and the mindless.
This is, of course, guy with PhD and a slew of books you can find in a bookstore that serves academia.
Yeah, it infringes on academic freedom, but then again, so does tenure.