Hat tip Amcha Initiative
A new study released by the Amcha Initiative indicates that a majority of professors who support the BDS movement against Israel (Boycott, Divest and Sanctions) are also preaching that message to their students in the classroom. Below is a link to the AMCHA press release followed by the pdf of the study itself.
https://amchainitiative.org/syllabus-study-1-8-20pr/
https://amchainitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Syllabus-Study-Report.pdf
This is hardly surprising. I have personally seen professors turning their classrooms into propaganda centers against Israel and on behalf of other causes. To me, it is unprofessional and unethical. If a given professor wants to support BDS or any other cause outside the classroom, that is fine even during non-classroom speaking events on campus. They have the right of free speech, just as I have expressed my views during campus (non-classroom) events at UC Irvine, UCLA, UC Riverside and other campuses. I am fully aware that many professors take their views into their classrooms often with the blessing of their respective universities. I never did during the 16 years I was teaching English as a Second Language at UC Irvine. I simply regarded it as unprofessional.
Of course, many professors think their title means they should "profess" in the classroom. After all, since they are the proud possessors of PhDs, whatever they say must be grounded on sound, peer-reviewed, scientific truth. It is the height of arrogance, especially when students who might disagree are denigrated in class. I also think it is unprofessional when professors assign or give extra credit for students to attend particular speaking events on campus that promote a one-sided view of an issue.
There is so much to reform in academia. One reform would be that professors stick to teaching facts, not their own personal opinions. In no other field has so much propaganda been introduced as Middle East studies, particularly when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment