From Criticalxthinking list:
DePaul is shaping up to be a central battleground in
the struggle to defend dissent and critical thinking
in academia. Not only has Dr. Norman Finkelstein
unjustly been denied tenure (along with Dr. Mehrene
Larudee), the university has cancelled his classes,
locked him out his office, placed him on academic
leave and is even threatening to arrest him if he
comes on campus.
Finkelstein has said that regardless, he will come on
campus and teach his classes. In an interview with
Inside Higher Ed
(http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/08/27/depaul),
he said, “If the university attempts to impede my
movements I intend to engage in nonviolent civil
disobedience and go to jail. If incarcerated I intend
to go on a protracted hunger strike until DePaul comes
to its senses. It is regrettable that I have been
driven to such drastic actions to defend basic
principles of academic freedom and my contractual
rights, upon which DePaul has been riding roughshod
for so long.” You can read a lot more on the situation
at Finkelstein’s website:
http://normanfinkelstein.com.
We would like to highlight two things. The first is an
article from DePaul Philosophy professor Bill Martin,
“Urgent Need to Right Wrongs at DePaul University.”
Martin powerfully conveys the damage already done by
the DePaul administration and the urgent need to
reverse the decisions. As he notes, “The cost for not
standing up will be enormous: DePaul will be destroyed
as a place deserving of respect in the intellectual
and academic worlds, and, if this happens, academic
freedom will be under attack everywhere.” You can read
the article on our website (which, incidentally, has
been completely redone):
http://defendcriticalthinking.org/
The second is the ongoing resistance and organization
of students at DePaul. They have formed the DePaul
Academic Freedom Committee. They are planning a
protest and press conference for the first day of
class – Wednesday September 5th. This is the day that
the students that would be in Professor Finkelstein’s
class would have gone to his classes (which start at
8:30am). They have also organized an exciting
conference on October 12. Called “In Defense of
Academic Freedom,” It will feature Akeel Bilgrami,
Noam Chomsky, Tony Judt, John Mearsheimer, Neve
Gordon, with host Tariq Ali. It will take place at
Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago. You
can read more about the conference and their
activities at: http://www.academicfreedomchicago.org/
The DePaul AFC is asking that people send an email
letting the DePaul administration know what you think
of their actions. Here are some of their emails:
– DePaul University President, Rev. Dennis H.
Holtschneider, C.M. – president@depaul.edu
– DePaul Provost, Dr. Helmut Epp – hepp@depaul.edu
– DePaul Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and
Sciences, Dr. Charles Suchar – csuchar@depaul.edu
Please cc emails to DAFC, Dr. Finkelstein and the
National Project: info@academicfreedomchicago.org,
normangf@hotmail.com, criticalxthinking@yahoo.com
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