As a former Indian university volunteer-teacher I am very disturbed to read about a "radical" USA professor watchlist webpage
I am an Indian living in India who is a retired international software consultant who offered free (volunteer) spiritual service to a private deemed university in India, teaching software lab. courses and acting as a technical consultant for student projects in a Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, from January 2003 to March 2012. My university campus issued designations during that period were three different designations of Honorary Staff, Honorary Faculty and Visiting Faculty. While I did not then and do not now consider myself to be an Indian academic (I was just helping the academic dept. out in my capacity as a retired international software consultant, a software industry man not an academic), I did interact closely with many Indian academics, attended dept. and campus academic meetings, and so got a lot of exposure to life in a private deemed university in Indian academia functioning under the top-level guidelines and norms of the University Grants Commission (and also the All India Council for Technical Education), the top academic administrative authority(ies) for most (non medical) higher education institutions in India.
Given this background of mine, I am very disturbed by this New York Times article, I Am a Dangerous Professor, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/30/opinion/i-am-a-dangerous-professor.html, Nov. 30th 2016 by George Yancy, a professor of philosophy at Emory University, USA.
Yancy writes that he was recently informed by his students that his name appears on a new website called PROFESSOR WATCHLIST which has been created by a conservative youth group called Turning Point USA!
Ravi: Here is the webpage on the PROFESSOR WATCHLIST website having all the names of (USA, I presume) professors it is "watching" including George Yancy, http://www.professorwatchlist.org/index.php/watch-list-directory/search-by-name.
The About Us link of this site says that it is a project of Turning Point USA, http://www.tpusa.com/. It further states, "The mission of Professor Watchlist is to expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom." But it adds, "TPUSA will continue to fight for free speech and the right for professors to say whatever they wish; however students, parents, and alumni deserve to know the specific incidents and names of professors that advance a radical agenda in lecture halls."
[Turning Point USA, http://www.tpusa.com/, states that it is a non-profit organization founded in June 2012. It further states, "The organization’s mission is to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government."]
Hmm. It is one thing for an academic to be criticized strongly for his/her views expressed within the freedom of speech laws of their country. But to have one's name being added to a "leftist propaganda" and "radical agenda" watchlist by a youth group website would be unnerving! I mean, students outnumber academics heavily in campus environments. Most academics would want to avoid espousing views that make them a target of a group of students that openly lists them as radicals, and opposes them. This is different from USA law enforcement and judicial bodies questioning and even attempting to discipline an academic who is accused of espousing radical views that destablize society and threaten its peace. The latter case would fit within, one presumes, constitutional and legal safeguards and norms of USA.
But a youth group creating such a watchlist may provoke some youth(s) to engage in intimidation towards professors on that watchlist! I don't think I have heard of any such published watchlist by Indian students about Indian academics who are viewed as espousing radical or leftist views. Indian govt. law enforcement and judicial agencies have even arrested some Indian academic(s) for activities they view as anti-national or something similar. But then that is within Indian legal framework and open to challenge and appeals in Indian courts of law.
Yancy writes that this may lead to self-censorship by USA academics. A small extract from his article is given below:
If we are not careful, a watchlist like this can have the impact of the philosopher Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon — a theoretical prison designed to create a form of self-censorship among those imprisoned. The list is not simply designed to get others to spy on us, to out us, but to install forms of psychological self-policing to eliminate thoughts, pedagogical approaches and theoretical orientations that it defines as subversive.
--- end short extract of article ---
Ravi: Hmm. I find this development to be very disturbing. But then I am not familiar with the history of USA academics with respect to tolerance of such viewpoints as espoused by those in this professor watchlist. So perhaps I may be overreacting to something that is just a new website on the Internet and which does not have any real impact on the ground in terms of any attempts to intimidate USA academics espousing legally permissible views in USA but which are viewed as objectionable by this new website.
I browsed the net to see reactions to this professor watchlist. Here are some interesting and/or informative articles:
1) ‘Professor Watchlist’ by conservative millennial group accuses teachers of ‘leftist propaganda’, http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article117844598.html, Nov. 29th 2016. The article mentions that David Guth, a journalism professor of University of Kansas, was named in this professor watchlist. It quotes Guth as saying, "I don’t agree with their characterization of me" and that he thinks the group does not have much credibility. He says, "I kind of chuckled. It’s no big deal."
2) Texas faculty included on 'Professor Watchlist', http://www.chron.com/local/education/campus-chronicles/article/Texas-faculty-included-on-Professor-Watchlist-10644439.php, Nov. 30th 2016. The article quotes UT Journalism professor Richard Jensen who is on this watchlist as saying, "I feel confident that both the legal system and the institution of which I’m a part will protect freedom of expression and academic freedom, but I also recognize that can change quickly". Jensen called the watchlist "ideological trolling". The article quotes UH history professor Gerald Horne saying that non-tenured (roughly equivalent to not-permanent in Indian context) professors may see the list and "receive a signal that they should steer away from certain subjects and topics.”
3) Oh Good, a “Professor Watch List”, http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/education/2016/11/professor_watchlist_is_a_grotesque_catalog_of_left_leaning_academics.html, by Rebecca Schuman, Nov. 23rd 2016. The sub-title of the article is "The timing of a new website meant to identify liberal academics is grotesque." Schuman writes that she contacted Charlie Kirk who founded Turning Point USA and asked him whether the professor watchlist created by his orgn. is meant to intimidate, harass or harm in some way, the professors on the list. Kirk dismissed the suggestion (question) as preposterous. Kirk stressed that his group is not associated with alt-right or hate groups. Schuman writes that she does not doubt Kirk's sincerity but that Kirk's intentions behind creating this (liberal) professor watch list may not make a difference (as it may get misused by alt-right and hate groups emboldened by USA 2016 election results).
4) https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/posts/964714877005912, by Prof. Heather Cox Richardson, dated Nov. 23rd 2016. Prof. Richardson's name is on the watch list. She is a professor of history at Boston college. She writes in the above mentioned post, "I am dangerous not to America but to the people soon to be in charge of it, people like the youngster who wrote this list. I teach that the American government only works when it is based on the principle that every single American is equal before the law. Since 1997, I have argued in print and in public that, throughout history, ideologically-driven politicians have undermined that fundamental principle in order to shift the economy and the power structures of this country in their own favor." She ends the post as follows, "I have been touched and overwhelmed by all of the messages of concern and support I have received over my inclusion on the Professor Watchlist. And for those of you who worried: no, I will not shut up. America is still worth fighting for."
[I thank nytimes.com, professorwatchlist.org, tpusa.com, kansascity.com, chron.com, slate.com and Prof. Heather Cox Richardson, and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above short extracts from their websites on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
Given this background of mine, I am very disturbed by this New York Times article, I Am a Dangerous Professor, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/30/opinion/i-am-a-dangerous-professor.html, Nov. 30th 2016 by George Yancy, a professor of philosophy at Emory University, USA.
Yancy writes that he was recently informed by his students that his name appears on a new website called PROFESSOR WATCHLIST which has been created by a conservative youth group called Turning Point USA!
Ravi: Here is the webpage on the PROFESSOR WATCHLIST website having all the names of (USA, I presume) professors it is "watching" including George Yancy, http://www.professorwatchlist.org/index.php/watch-list-directory/search-by-name.
The About Us link of this site says that it is a project of Turning Point USA, http://www.tpusa.com/. It further states, "The mission of Professor Watchlist is to expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom." But it adds, "TPUSA will continue to fight for free speech and the right for professors to say whatever they wish; however students, parents, and alumni deserve to know the specific incidents and names of professors that advance a radical agenda in lecture halls."
[Turning Point USA, http://www.tpusa.com/, states that it is a non-profit organization founded in June 2012. It further states, "The organization’s mission is to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government."]
Hmm. It is one thing for an academic to be criticized strongly for his/her views expressed within the freedom of speech laws of their country. But to have one's name being added to a "leftist propaganda" and "radical agenda" watchlist by a youth group website would be unnerving! I mean, students outnumber academics heavily in campus environments. Most academics would want to avoid espousing views that make them a target of a group of students that openly lists them as radicals, and opposes them. This is different from USA law enforcement and judicial bodies questioning and even attempting to discipline an academic who is accused of espousing radical views that destablize society and threaten its peace. The latter case would fit within, one presumes, constitutional and legal safeguards and norms of USA.
But a youth group creating such a watchlist may provoke some youth(s) to engage in intimidation towards professors on that watchlist! I don't think I have heard of any such published watchlist by Indian students about Indian academics who are viewed as espousing radical or leftist views. Indian govt. law enforcement and judicial agencies have even arrested some Indian academic(s) for activities they view as anti-national or something similar. But then that is within Indian legal framework and open to challenge and appeals in Indian courts of law.
Yancy writes that this may lead to self-censorship by USA academics. A small extract from his article is given below:
If we are not careful, a watchlist like this can have the impact of the philosopher Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon — a theoretical prison designed to create a form of self-censorship among those imprisoned. The list is not simply designed to get others to spy on us, to out us, but to install forms of psychological self-policing to eliminate thoughts, pedagogical approaches and theoretical orientations that it defines as subversive.
--- end short extract of article ---
Ravi: Hmm. I find this development to be very disturbing. But then I am not familiar with the history of USA academics with respect to tolerance of such viewpoints as espoused by those in this professor watchlist. So perhaps I may be overreacting to something that is just a new website on the Internet and which does not have any real impact on the ground in terms of any attempts to intimidate USA academics espousing legally permissible views in USA but which are viewed as objectionable by this new website.
I browsed the net to see reactions to this professor watchlist. Here are some interesting and/or informative articles:
1) ‘Professor Watchlist’ by conservative millennial group accuses teachers of ‘leftist propaganda’, http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article117844598.html, Nov. 29th 2016. The article mentions that David Guth, a journalism professor of University of Kansas, was named in this professor watchlist. It quotes Guth as saying, "I don’t agree with their characterization of me" and that he thinks the group does not have much credibility. He says, "I kind of chuckled. It’s no big deal."
2) Texas faculty included on 'Professor Watchlist', http://www.chron.com/local/education/campus-chronicles/article/Texas-faculty-included-on-Professor-Watchlist-10644439.php, Nov. 30th 2016. The article quotes UT Journalism professor Richard Jensen who is on this watchlist as saying, "I feel confident that both the legal system and the institution of which I’m a part will protect freedom of expression and academic freedom, but I also recognize that can change quickly". Jensen called the watchlist "ideological trolling". The article quotes UH history professor Gerald Horne saying that non-tenured (roughly equivalent to not-permanent in Indian context) professors may see the list and "receive a signal that they should steer away from certain subjects and topics.”
3) Oh Good, a “Professor Watch List”, http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/education/2016/11/professor_watchlist_is_a_grotesque_catalog_of_left_leaning_academics.html, by Rebecca Schuman, Nov. 23rd 2016. The sub-title of the article is "The timing of a new website meant to identify liberal academics is grotesque." Schuman writes that she contacted Charlie Kirk who founded Turning Point USA and asked him whether the professor watchlist created by his orgn. is meant to intimidate, harass or harm in some way, the professors on the list. Kirk dismissed the suggestion (question) as preposterous. Kirk stressed that his group is not associated with alt-right or hate groups. Schuman writes that she does not doubt Kirk's sincerity but that Kirk's intentions behind creating this (liberal) professor watch list may not make a difference (as it may get misused by alt-right and hate groups emboldened by USA 2016 election results).
4) https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/posts/964714877005912, by Prof. Heather Cox Richardson, dated Nov. 23rd 2016. Prof. Richardson's name is on the watch list. She is a professor of history at Boston college. She writes in the above mentioned post, "I am dangerous not to America but to the people soon to be in charge of it, people like the youngster who wrote this list. I teach that the American government only works when it is based on the principle that every single American is equal before the law. Since 1997, I have argued in print and in public that, throughout history, ideologically-driven politicians have undermined that fundamental principle in order to shift the economy and the power structures of this country in their own favor." She ends the post as follows, "I have been touched and overwhelmed by all of the messages of concern and support I have received over my inclusion on the Professor Watchlist. And for those of you who worried: no, I will not shut up. America is still worth fighting for."
[I thank nytimes.com, professorwatchlist.org, tpusa.com, kansascity.com, chron.com, slate.com and Prof. Heather Cox Richardson, and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above short extracts from their websites on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
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