Apr 1, 2004
The OAH and Speech Codes: An Opportunity
Ralph Luker has urged David Montgomery, chair of a new ad hoc committee on academic freedom for the Organization of American Historians, to"examine campus speech codes as threats to freedom and inquiry and speech in the current academic climate."
As someone who has not hesitated to use his academic freedom to criticize the war (normally considered a"leftist" cause), I would urge Montgomery to take this request seriously. This could be an excellent way to build bridges between conservatives, libertarians, liberals, and socialists and thus be better able to defend academic freedom for everyone. It would also be a wonderful advertisement for Joe and Jill Six Pack about the across-the-board consistency of the OAH.