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Most of All, I am Offended as a Muslim
On Hamline University's shocking imposition of narrow religious orthodoxy in the classroom
Khalid, Amna http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article65302
Publisher: Europe Solidaire
Date Written: 29/12/2022
Year Published: 2022
Resource Type: Article
Barring a professor of art history from showing a painting, lest it harm observant Muslims in class, is just as absurd as asking a biology professor not to teach evolution because it may offend evangelical Protestants in the course.
Abstract:
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Excerpt:
This case offends me on many levels:
As a professor, I am appalled by the senior administration’s decision to dismiss the instructor and pander to the students who claim to have been 'harmed.' This kind of 'inclusive excellence' permits DEI administrators to ride roughshod over faculty knowledge. The administration's blatant disregard for and active suppression of the very thing an institution of higher learning is valued for -- the specialized knowledge of its faculty -- makes this "one of the most egregious violations of academic freedom in recent memory," in the words of PEN America.
With leadership like Hamline's, who needs content-banning legislation to limit the scope of inquiry and teaching? It is the ultimate betrayal of the promise of education when institutions of higher learning begin endorsing ignorance. In the end, it is the students who pay the highest price for such limits on academic freedom.
As an historian, I am shocked that Hamline's administration cannot appreciate that the image is a primary source and that a class on art history, by definition, necessitates engaging with primary sources; this is the heart of the historian’s craft. Barring a professor of art history from showing this painting, lest it harm observant Muslims in class, is just as absurd as asking a biology professor not to teach evolution because it may offend evangelical Protestants in the course.
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