This post was edited to incorporate relevant information which I was not aware of when I first wrote it. This information adds perspective to the issue, but it does not undermine my original argument. Recently, a number of prominent media pundits and academics published a letter in Harper's Magazine and elsewhere calling for both Justice … Continue reading Dueling Cancel Cultures
Category: Higher Ed
Ohio’s Free Speech on Campus Bill
The Ohio has recently passed Senate Bill 40 , aka "Forming Open and Robust University Minds Act". It will most likely be signed by the governor, thus creating a State Law to protect the free speech clause of the First Amendment to the US Constitution at Ohio public universities. The bill would bring an end … Continue reading Ohio’s Free Speech on Campus Bill
No Cheers for Garcetti
A recent lawsuit against my own University by a colleague of mine alleging violation of his First Amendment rights to speech, exercise of religion along and due process has been dismissed on summary judgement in the U.S. District Court for Southern Ohio. The professor in this case is represented by The Alliance Defending Freedom. The dismissal … Continue reading No Cheers for Garcetti
Conspiracy Theories and Academic Freedom: Part I.
I recently read about the case of Joy Karega, who was dismissed last fall from her tenure track position at Oberlin College for "intellectual dishonesty" in her Facebook posts (for a few more specifics on this case, see also here). The initial objections to her Facebook posts stemmed from their allegedly anti-semitic character. At least one of … Continue reading Conspiracy Theories and Academic Freedom: Part I.
Reforming Economics Education
There is a good deal of discussion these days about what is wrong with how economics is taught at the University level. For some examples, see Lars Syll's blog , The Institute for New Economic Thinking, and this recent article in VOX about controversies surrounding Greg Mankiw's Principles of Economics course and text and alternatives to it at Harvard. I've now completed the … Continue reading Reforming Economics Education
Janus: What is all this fuss Abood?
On June 27, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court, by a vote of 5-4, ruled in Janus that a provision of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act which allowed public employee Unions to negotiate "fair share fees" violated the First Amendment rights and the right to free Association of public employees (see also Ohio Revised Code 4117 ). … Continue reading Janus: What is all this fuss Abood?
Are some ideas not worth debating?
In an article in the AAUP's Journal of Academic Freedom, noted historian Joan Wallach Scott draws a distinction between the protections afforded by Academic Freedom and the First Amendment. The distinction is an important one: the claim to protection for academic freedom rests on a claim to expertise in one's discipline. In contrast, the First Amendment … Continue reading Are some ideas not worth debating?
