College professors once taught free from political interference, with mostly their students and colleagues privy to their lectures and book assignments. Now they are being watched by state officials, senior administrators and students themselves.
In Oklahoma, US, a student disputed an instructor’s grading decision, drawing the notice of conservative campus group Turning Point USA that has long posted the names of professors criticised for bringing liberal politics into their classrooms. The instructor was removed.
In Texas, US, a student recorded a classroom lesson on gender identity that led to viral outrage and the instructor’s firing. Now Texas has set up an office to take other complaints about colleges and professors.
Several US states, including Texas, Ohio and Florida, have created laws requiring professors to publicly post their course outlines in searchable databases.
The increased oversight of professors comes as conservatives expand their movement to curb what they say is a liberal tilt in university classrooms. In the last couple of years, they have found sympathetic ears in state legislatures with the power to pressure schools, and their efforts have gained momentum as the Trump administration has made overhauling the politics and culture on campuses a focus.
But all of this, some professors and free expression groups say, is leading to a wave of censorship and self-censorship that they argue is curbing academic freedom and learning.
“We’ve never seen this much surveillance,” said John White, a University of North Florida education professor who was asked to remove words such as “diversity”, “equity”, “inclusion” and “culture” from his syllabus. He changed his syllabus under threat of his course being cancelled.
Lawmakers, and sometimes university administrators, argue that the new scrutiny and rules make for stronger universities at a time of widespread calls for more accountability.
Peter Hans, the president of the University of North Carolina system, announced last December that all 16 of its campuses will create searchable databases of syllabi starting in the fall. In a recent opinion column, he wrote that “more transparency” was the answer to increased scrutiny of higher education.
“Getting an honest, realistic look at how our faculty are trying to reach an anxious generation with depth and rigour should inspire more confidence in public universities,” he wrote.
Conservative groups that have monitored campuses have applauded the moves. Sarah Parshall Perry, vice-president of Defending Education, a group that has publicly posted college syllabi, said more transparency will help parents and students decide which courses to take. “Exactly what are you teaching that you’re ashamed of?” she said.
The scrutiny has been especially intense in departments like gender studies and Middle Eastern studies. Some professors say the new rules have turned teaching into a minefield in those disciplines, inviting online trolls looking for keywords and directing online mobs toward professors.
Jonathan Friedman with PEN America, a free expression group, said that posting syllabi so the public has a better grasp of what occurs in college classrooms may sound innocuous but “publishing syllabi when it is coupled with this McCarthyist environment is really dangerous”.
Some states, including Florida, have mandated that the syllabi be in databases searchable by keywords. “There you see the clear aim to essentially scan and scrutinise for hot-button topics,” Friedman said.
Professors are adapting to the new reality. One professor at a school where faculty must post their course plans said he now effectively has two syllabi — one he will submit for public posting and another for students. He asked not to be identified for fear of retribution against his institution.
At the recent annual meeting of the American Historical Association, the largest gathering of historians, a panel titled “Queering and Gendering Your Syllabi in an ‘Anti-Woke’ Era” explored how to convey to LGBTQ+ students that the course will be welcoming while avoiding online critics trolling for keywords.
“None of this is happening in good faith and we shouldn’t treat it as such,” Dan Royles, a historian of modern America, said during the panel. He later added, “Minimum compliance is a good guideline here.”
Isaac Kamola, a Trinity College professor who has studied Right-wing websites, said the current surveillance follows efforts by Campus Reform and Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA, which began singling out professors for their perceived liberal biases over a decade ago. Turning Point included a “watch list” of professors, leading to a torrent of critical and abusive emails to those who found themselves on it.
Now that governments and universities are involved, he said, “Everybody is walking on eggshells,” Kamola said. “Faculty are walking on eggshells. Administrators are walking on eggshells. Students are walking on eggshells. And what you get is the opposite of free speech.”
NYTNS
