Another example of the fact that universities are becoming indoctrination mills, open to diversity of anything but diversity of ideas and ideology.
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Unlike my ancient predecessor, this Tullius hasn't had his hands chopped off. With hands attached I offer my thoughts on philosophy, religion, politics, and whatever else I find worth mentioning. I'm conservative religiously and politically (with libertarian leanings). I value reason and freedom but also traditions and "Oldthink." I relish being on the wrong side of history when history is wrong--part of a philosopher's job is to be unpopular. (Views given here may not represent my employers')
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Stripping a Professor of Tenure Over a Blog Post
Another example of the fact that universities are becoming indoctrination mills, open to diversity of anything but diversity of ideas and ideology.
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https://ceabbate.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/gender-based-violence-responsibility-and-john-mcadams/
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, I'm well aware of Ms. Abbate's response to this and other reports. I've been following the story since it first broke. I've had classes with two of the philosophy professors on the side against the blogger (one was my advisor--I've always been on great terms with both). I chose to post this article because it seems to me the most even-handed. The author even goes out of his way to note that he toes the party line w/respect to gay "marriage" and that he thinks McAdams should have handled things differently. He's simply defending McAdams from getting fired over a blog post.
ReplyDeleteOh, wait. Abbate says that's wrong WRONG WRONG. McAdams wrote a NUMBER of blog posts.
Now, Abbate is a philosophy student and teacher. (In fact, poor Ms. Abbate, once the story broke, was swept up by the highly ranked (and uber liberal) U. of Colorado where she now is a graduate student.) So she should be well aware of the meaning of indefinite and definite articles if not causation/explantion. McAdams was stripped over a blog post. That sentence is ambiguous between stripped only because of a blog post, stripped because of a blog post + other factors, and stripped over a blog post which was the primary factor. The title says nothing false and nothing misleading--not if one is a charitable reader and noted the obvious ambiguity as a (good) philosophy student should.
If I were writing the article I probably would've had the very same title. It's not inaccurate, it grabs one's interest, and it draws attention to the root of the issue which is that he is losing tenure in large part because of THAT blog post. In fact, in thinking about what I would title my post I thought it was perfectly fine. The blog post he put up after first talking to her was the catalyst to the Marquette thought police seeking to fire him.
Well, it's that and the fact that he doesn't toe the party line. (BTW, if I'm reading one of Marquette's policies correctly, a student or faculty member could be punished for not only raising arguments against the morality of same-sex marriage but QUESTIONING it).
"Oh, wait. Abbate says that's wrong WRONG WRONG. McAdams wrote a NUMBER of blog posts. "
ReplyDeleteThis is from the article you shared:
"Update: Numerous observers who believe that McAdams should be stripped of tenure have pointed to one part of Holtz's letter as the factor that persuaded them. For that reason, I want to include it here. It alleges that McAdams has been warned before about naming students on his blog:
In March 2008, you published the name of a student who worked in advertising for the Marquette Tribune after she had declined to run an advertisement highlighting alleged risks from the "morning after" pill. Only after that student contacted you to advise of the impacts upon her and to request you to cease and desist did you delete her name. In March 2011, you published blog posts regarding a student who was helping to organize a campus performance of The Vagina Monologues. Again, the harmful consequences of your unilateral naming of students were pointed out. You acknowledged at that time that publishing student names on the Internet was a matter of concern, but given your naming of Ms. Abbate that acknowledgment from 2011 appears to be without meaning or effect."
I see what you were getting at now. I don't think I agree with you, but I'm on the same page.
ReplyDeleteJordan,
ReplyDeleteThat's correct. Part of the issue with McAdam's was what is stated in the update about previously mentioning students in posts. That, though, doesn't conflict with the title of the Atlantic article which has the noted ambiguities I mention and was the catalyst to the firing (what we might say was the precipitating cause). As well, a graduate student who is also an INSTRUCTOR makes matters much more complicated than if the student is an undergraduate. I noted some of this already as well as the fact that McAdam's should've confronted Abbate directly before posting, given her more time to respond, etc. on Facebook comments. Bad form by McAdams but I don't think it warrants being fired.
Didn't he mention the student she got into it with by name as well? If he's done that, and more than once, I don't think I'm going to be on his side.
ReplyDeleteI believe he had mentioned an undergraduate (or undergraduates) before and had agreed not to do that anymore. But Abbate is a graduate student instructor teaching her own courses (like I did at Purdue). He was criticizing her in her capacity as an instructor. That will be a key issue when (I suspect) the matter goes to court.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I have to skim since I'm at work (hence my first misunderstanding of what you meant), but I thought the article you posted said he mentioned the undergraduate by name in the post in question. If he did, something has to be done. If he's done it more than once, he needs to go.
ReplyDeleteNo, the original blog post (the one the Atlantic is discussing) mentions the GRADUATE student, Abbate. And it mentions her as the instructor of a student who had the dispute over same-sex "marriage." Here it is: http://mu-warrior.blogspot.in/2014/11/marquette-philosophy-instructor-gay.html
ReplyDeleteGotcha. In that case I'm probably with you; Her being a paid (staff, faculty? I don't know which you consider grad student teachers) member makes it hard for me to see why he should be kicked out. It really sounds like he should have been kicked out in the past for naming students at least twice, but this particular instance doesn't seem worth it.
ReplyDeleteI guess my threshold for firing someone from a job that one has invested decades in is a lot higher. There are plenty of other sanctions one can take short of firing someone and potentially having him start his career over from the ground up. One could take away certain teaching responsibilities for a while or for the long haul, give additional responsibilities, deduction in pay, etc.
ReplyDeleteThat seems reasonable, at least for a first offense. It's just a little bit of a personal issue I guess. My wife and I have been victims of internet abuse and slander, we've even had a person we were trying to block pull pictures of our kids off the internet and send them to us just to prove they still had ways to "see" us.
ReplyDelete