Organization of American Historians Fumbles on Academic Freedom
For the full report, see here.
The Committee does not even allude to politically correct suppression of free speech through speech codes. It makes much of the Patriot Act. While I oppose the Patriot Act, and the Committee is right to criticize it, I know of very few examples of faculty members who have been prosecuted under it.
On the other hand, faculty and students are being harassed by speech codes on almost a daily basis throughout the U.S. For numerous examples, see here .
I will blog on this later at greater length but, in the meantime, here is what Ralph had to say:
Six months ago, Jim Horton, president of the Organization of American
Historians, appointed a committee chaired by Yale's David Montgomery to look
into contemporary threats to academic freedom. At the time, Michael Burger
in a comment here at Cliopatria, David Beito at Liberty & Power and I urged
the committee to look into the degree to which campus speech codes were
threats to academic freedom. Blessed with a more irenic temperament than my
own, Beito put it well, I thought:"As someone who has not hesitated to use
his academic freedom to criticize the war (normally considered a"leftist" cause)," he wrote,"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."
At least two of the four members of the OAH committee appointed by Horton
are long-term professional and personal friends of mine, but I'm afraid that
I have to say that the committee made no effort to look at the kinds of
concerns that libertarian or conservative historians have expressed about
the chilling effect of speech codes on academic freedom. You can read the
committee's report here. Despite the fact that both Beito and I contacted
David Montgomery in re the question of speech codes, it is obvious that it
made no effort to investigate questions other than those which might occur
to a historian on the left. It is a huge opportunity missed by the blinders,
if I may coin a phrase, of"political correctness." Shame on the OAH and its
committee!
RALPH E. LUKER: The OAH and Free Speech ...