tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post8615197059612604470..comments2024-03-18T22:21:33.261-07:00Comments on The Debate Link: Finkelstein Denied TenureDavid Schraubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946653376744012423noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post-26535863954357168182007-06-12T12:56:00.000-07:002007-06-12T12:56:00.000-07:00My only experience with Finkelstein is in a debate...My only experience with Finkelstein is in a debate with Dershowitz on Democracy Now. Dershowitz wiped the floor with him and managed to make him look like a dick. I'm agnostic about tenure- I suppose his scholarly work could be great. But he certainly came off like someone who would fit in well at Southwest State Community Technical College.<BR/><BR/>Anon: You realize that Finkelstein as a data point contradicts your position, right? The guy is about as conservative as Noam Chomsky.Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07617213327912889142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post-72777668199293643422007-06-11T13:40:00.000-07:002007-06-11T13:40:00.000-07:00How about when all expression of a particular poli...How about when all expression of a particular political ideology is deemed "uncivil"?<BR/><BR/>Your example of whites deeming all blacks to be unqualified and uncivil seems wildly out of tune with what dominates on college campuses these days. Almost every college has a "diversity office" with a crew dedicated to guarding against any vestige of racism. Meanwhile, ideological skews in some departments approach 90% as professors, grad students, and undergraduates alike quickly learn that anything right of center (and most of the center as well) should be suppressed, lest it result in a purge. Finkelstein's certainly adds to the long, long list of cautionary tales.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post-846668864107831462007-06-11T13:29:00.000-07:002007-06-11T13:29:00.000-07:00My roommate this year was from Morris, hence the r...My roommate this year was from Morris, hence the reference. Hi Joe!<BR/><BR/>Anon: I don't think an accusation of racist is inherently uncivil--in fact, it's the reflexive labeling of it as such that is one of the reasons I have grown leery of the concept. After all, racism is an academic concept--certain ideas have to be racist, and theorists need to be allowed to press a claim that something is racist if they believe it to be so. When that is labeled "uncivil" and a collegiality problem, then there is a serious academic freedom issue. That, I feel, is distinct from bomb-throwing designed to implicate the dignity or worth of a group (esp. an already oppressed one). The middle link in my post illustrates: White academic implicitly rejects the qualifications of every Black faculty member in his department and then has the gall to call them uncivil <I>at the same time</I>. Well with provocations like that, who wouldn't be?David Schraubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04946653376744012423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post-67755736777851737752007-06-11T12:59:00.000-07:002007-06-11T12:59:00.000-07:00If Finkelstein's "incendiary" nature is really the...If Finkelstein's "incendiary" nature is really the problem, it is reasonable to ask why other "incendiary" academics do not receive similar scrutiny about it.<BR/><BR/>While the example you use is of an anti-affirmative action advocate who uses name calling to describe those who disagree, it is far more common to see those who <I>support</I> such programs embracing incendiary rhetoric, describing their opponents as "racist" on a blanket basis. Similarly, the "incendiary" nature of the scholarship of Angela Davis, Cathrine MacKinnon, and many other luminaries of the radical left have never been an object of concern, let alone a barrier to receiving tenure. <BR/><BR/>But when the "incendiary" language is used by an advocate who dissents from the leftist consensus of the academy, <I>then</I> collegiality is suddenly really important.<BR/><BR/>Come on. You really can't be blind to this double standard, can you, David?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post-2631513472184079132007-06-11T12:46:00.000-07:002007-06-11T12:46:00.000-07:00You are right, this is a tough one. On the one ha...You are right, this is a tough one. On the one hand if "collegiality" is to play a major role (and despite what the AAUP says I think it can and should), you would think it would be the members of the <I>department</I> that would get the say and NOT a dean. On the other hand, is Depaul really a big enough place to comfortably accomodate iconoclasts? Such Profs can bring headaches not just for the specific departments but for the University as a whole. <BR/><BR/>It should be said, also, that tenure decisions getting "OK'd" at the department level and getting "nixed" by higher ups is NOT that unusual. It happened recently to a friend of mine at a southern urban university. (He thinks the admin wanted some cheaper adjuncts to fill the "line.") Of course, you don't hear about those folks because they don't claim a "conspiracy" is out to get them.<BR/><BR/>As someone who lived for a year in Morris, Minnesota, I enjoyed seeing the reference! :-)Rich Hortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15561931187909269006noreply@blogger.com