Talk on Academic Freedom at U of Toronto, Monday Feb. 26

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

I really wish I could make this. I expect most of my old cohort in the Religious Studies dept. will be there in force, though.

Temperature rising: global to local threats against academic freedom

With Douglas Giles, US adjunct lecturer (sessional)

In fall 2005, Douglas Giles was wrongfully terminated from his job as a contract lecturer at Roosevelt University in Chicago, merely for allowing open and respectful discussion of Judaism and Islam in his World Religions class. Because his Union, the Roosevelt Adjunct Faculty Organization, fought for him, and because he attracted public support, Prof Giles won a settlement in his termination case. But he remains committed to speaking out against all violations of academic freedom, in post-911 America and elsewhere.

Join CUPE 3902 (UofT education workers) for an evening with American lecturer and crusader for academic freedom, Douglas Giles:

Monday February 26, 2007, 7pm

Emmanuel College, University of Toronto

(on the East side of Queen's Park Circle, just south of the Museum Subway station)

Room 119 (first floor)

Free - all welcome

416.593.7057 * comms@cupe3902.org

"A year ago I was naïve about the issue of academic freedom. Certainly, I supported the freedom of instructors to teach and students to learn, but I had assumed that academic freedom was only threatened in other countries or in the distant past. Since then, I have received the hard, sobering education that can come only from living through and struggling against injustice." - Douglas Giles

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

Found some more on this.

Statement of Professor Douglas Giles

Basic Facts of the Academic Freedom Violation at Roosevelt University by DJ ProFusion Mon May 08, 2006 at 09:39:30 PM PDT

Since so many people have asked, I thought it would be good to recount the basic facts of the academic freedom case at Roosevelt University.

I am Douglas Giles, the adjunct professor who was fired for allowing students to speak openly in a World Religions class. I have taught college philosophy, ethics, and religion since 1998. I believe that students deserve the opportunity to learn divergent viewpoints and make up their own minds. As such, I welcome questions and allow students to share their opinions and experiences as discussion is absolutely crucial to quality education.

Roosevelt University's Chair of the Department of History, Art History and Philosophy, Susan Weininger is an art history professor who has never taught religion or philosophy. Other than the interview in which she hired me in December 2003, she and I had not spoken before a series of phone calls she placed to me at my home in September 2005. In these phone calls, she told me, as department chair, to change my World Religions curriculum to exclude certain opinions and facts:

* Students should not be allowed to ask whatever questions they want in class * Nothing should be mentioned in class, textbooks, or examinations that could possibly open up Judaism to criticism, especially any mention of Zionism * Nothing related to Palestinians or Islamic beliefs about Jerusalem should be mentioned * Discussion of Zionism or the Palestinian issue was "disrespectful to any Jews in the class"

I replied that those restrictions would lead to a biased class. She then made a series of disparaging comments about Palestinians concluding with the following: W: "I hear you even allowed a Muslim to speak in class." G: "Yes, of course, I allowed all students to speak, regardless of their religion!" W: "You shouldn't! What disturbs me is that you act like the Palestinians have a side in this. They don't have a side! They are ANIMALS (emphasis hers)! They strap bombs to their bodies and blow up women and children! They are NOT CIVILIZED! (emphasis hers)" She then ordered me to never bring up the conversation again to anyone and hung up. I did report the conversations to my union representative. Within a few days, I received a letter from Weininger saying I would no longer be teaching at Roosevelt.

The reason for my job termination is clear. Because I allowed open and respectful discussion of Judaism and Islam in my classes, I am censored from teaching at Roosevelt. My union, RAFO (Roosevelt Adjunct Faculty Organization - http://rafo.org) has consistently supported me in fighting this violation of academic freedom. They filed a formal grievance Nov. 29, 2005. Roosevelt's response has been a succession of disingenuous delaying tactics. Every communication their story changes, yet, Roosevelt has never once denied that Weininger made the statements. Roosevelt's Associate Provost, Louise Love, has even defended Weininger's statements saying that "as chair of the department, Weininger had a right to express her views," that "it is within the University's province to determine its curriculum," and that Weininger's demand that Giles restrict the content of the course "is not an issue of academic freedom but a pedagogical one." Love even characterized Weininger's comments disparaging Palestinians as an "academic discussion" where Weininger was "defending her position passionately."

RAFO's executive council members have gone above and beyond the call and I can't praise them enough. They have risked their own faculty positions to fight for the rights of all faculty and students at Roosevelt. They have been extraordinarily patient and have given Roosevelt every opportunity to resolve this case. In response, Roosevelt has offered four different cover stories to try and shift the argument away from the academic freedom violation. Their cover stores are clearly manufactured, self-contradictory, and at times laughable in how obviously false they are. In essence, Roosevelt has been lying. Roosevelt also has continually refused to consider our evidence, speak with our witnesses, refused to negotiate in good faith, refused to provide requested information, and conducted themselves in such a manner that RAFO has filed two additional grievances over Roosevelt's contract violations. We are currently scheduled for national arbitration and are supported in our academic freedom case by the Illinois Education Association.

I hope that you also find this deeply troubling. This ugly episode impinges on all of us and our freedom to teach and learn without interference. In no way should faculty and staff ever be censored or pressured to discuss subjects from only one biased perspective. If these acts are allowed to stand, then the standards and learning environment of education not only at Roosevelt University but everywhere have been damaged.

From globalresearch.ca

[phishtaper]

A few years ago, I stumbled up on shocking case described here and here about the removal of a journal article about the genetic origins of Jews and Palestinians.

I learned that someone at McMaster University had blindly followed the publisher's request and actually cut the article out of the journal. When I asked about it, senior staff were stunned - they quickly located a copy, printed it and inserted it back into the journal, saying it wasnt the university's policy to censor academia.

Things like this really make ya scratch your head. Here is the article , if ya care. It's rather boring, but man, did it cause a stir.

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

Interesting story, pt - thanks for the links.

[phishtaper]

hey Dr. Evil ... hear anything about the talk?

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

No, unfortunately, though I do see that the fourth hit on a google search brings this very thread up.

I've dropped a line to some friends from school to see if they were able to get to it.