David Horowitz has been campaigning a long time for a change in the indoctrination now taking place on university campuses. [See my earlier post] That, of course, has produced strong opposition. Horowitz says,
Opponents of efforts to end political discrimination and classroom indoctrination on college campuses follow a predictable game plan:
- Deny these problems exist;
- Question the veracity of anyone who claims they do; and, finally,
- Misrepresent the supporters of academic freedom as the very witch-hunters they are trying to thwart.
Michael Berube’s new book, What’s Liberal About The Liberal Arts: Classroom Politics and ‘Bias’ in Higher Education, is a case study in these techniques. Berube is a Professor of English Literature at Penn State and a member of the National Council of the American Association of University Professors, which has cast itself as the chief antagonist of the movement for academic reform.
Horowitz offers a long response to Berube's book and to those resisting the academic freedom he proposes.