Silence in class (Academic McCarthyism)

[Stockholm]

The Guardian
Tuesday April 4, 2006

After the screenwriter Walter Bernstein was placed on the blacklist during the McCarthyite era he said his life "seemed to move in ever-decreasing circles". "Few of my friends dropped away but the list of acquaintances diminished," he wrote in Inside Out, a memoir of the blacklist. "I appeared contaminated and they did not want to risk infection. They avoided me, not calling as they had in the past, not responding to my calls, being nervously distant if we met in public places."

snip

Few would argue there are direct parallels between the current assaults on liberals in academe and McCarthyism. Unlike the McCarthy era, most threats to academic freedom - real or perceived - do not, yet, involve the state. Nor are they buttressed by widespread popular support, as anticommunism was during the 50s. But in other ways, argues Ellen Schrecker, author of Many Are the Crimes - McCarthyism in America, comparisons are apt.

"In some respects it's more dangerous," she says. "McCarthyism dealt mainly with off-campus political activities. Now they focus on what is going on in the classroom. It's very dangerous because it's reaching into the core academic functions of the university, particularly in Middle-Eastern studies."

Either way, a growing number of apparently isolated incidents suggests a mood which is, if nothing else, determined, relentless and aimed openly at progressives in academe.

more http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1746227,00.html

[lindisfarne]

1. see another DU thread: Kandel's comments on science now and McCarthyism

Nobel Laureate Eric Kandel Condemns ‘Censorship' Of Scientists; Calls Current Climate For Science As “Disastrous" As McCarthy Era

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2203619&mesg_id=2203619

[greekspeak]

2. Unfortunately, this is not news

Progressives have been successfully drummed out of the government, and now they are out to "reform" the Academy. The Right has convinced its army of fundamentalists that colleges are overrun with spoiled rotten hacks that cannot make it in the "real world" and spend their days brainwashing the Faithful with librul evil ideas. We teach revisionist history, darwinism, and a host of other "evils." Basically, American universities are not an arm of the Republican party as the MSM is, and the government. Of course, when was the last time you heard of the "War on Academia?" Probably never. The spoiled rotten Fundamentalist playground bullies on the right make sure that America never hears about that.

[QC]

3. Yes, but how will this affect Cynthia McKinney? n/t

[gratuitous]

4. Thoughtful analysis, historical consciousness . . . hmmm

Yep, I was right. This story couldn't possibly have originated from a media source in the United States.

But it's still important, nevertheless.