Academic Connections, International

aconnectionsi@gmail.com © Academic Connections, International

Café Cook 18

   Have you noticed the brouhaha over an article printed in the journal Hypatia?  An

Here are some links where you can draw your own conclusions. The most recent article is at the top, but we recommend starting at the bottom, which was Daily Nous article that let the cat out of the bag to a broader audience:

     •     "Why Tuvel’s Article So Troubled Its Critics” by Shannon Winnubst in The Chronicle of Higher Education, 5/8/2017.

     •     "Progressive Eat One of Their Own in the Latest Campus Controversy,” by David French in National Review, 5/8/2017.

     •     "A Journal Article Provoked a Schism in Philosophy: Now the Rifts are Deepening,” by Lindsay McKenzie, Adam Harris, & Fernanda Zamudio-Suaréz, in The Chronicle of Higher Education,  5/6/2017.

     •     “Defining ‘Harm’ in the Tuvel Affair" by José Bermúdez in Inside Higher Education, 5/5/2017.

     •     “This is What a Modern-Day Witch Hunt Looks Like," by Jesse Singal, in New York Daily Intelligencer, 5/2/2017.

     •     “Philosophy’s End: The Defamation of Rebecca Tuvel” in Gender Trender, 5/2/2017.

     •     “If This is Feminism…” by Kelly Oliver, in The Philosophical Salon-Los Angeles Review of Books.

     •     “Philosopher’s Article On Transracialism Sparks Controversy," (Updated with response from author) in Daily Nous, 5/1/2017.

article written by philosopher Rebecca Tuvel of Rhodes College entitled, “In Defense of Transracialism” quickly drew fire and opprobrium. You may ask, why is learning about something like that worth my time? Good question.  

  For one, you can learn a lot about the issues involved, but equally important you can learn a lot about what flies and what doesn’t fly in academe in this age of identity politics.  Maybe one of the lessons to be learned is that there is a mine-field to be navigated, where reputations and careers are at stake—and the mine-field is complex. There is also the challenge of trying to understand what Christ would think of these things.

  Upon reflection we may be able to tell what these disputes teaches about the changes that keep coming to the academic process; we might be able to also forcast the next one coming down the pike.