The following is a condensed and edited version of “Academic Freedom in the Age of Trump,” an interview originally published in October 2017 on BillMoyers.com. Moyers interviewing Professor Emeritus Joan W. Scott. Academe article has to do with attacks from the right but anyone with brains can tell it says a lot about the dirty linen of Hunter College and the Department of Film and Media Studies, City University of New York.
Bill Moyers: Professor Scott, connect these dots for us. What’s the pattern?
Joan W. Scott: The pattern is an attack on the university as a place where critical thinking occurs, where free thought is encouraged. This is not new; it’s been going on for a number of years. It can be seen in the defunding of state universities. It can been seen in attacks on free speech at the university, particularly on the supposed tenured “radicals” who are teaching in universities. The Trump election brought it the fore and made it possible for a number of different groups whose aim is to stop the teaching of critical thinking to launch direct attacks.
Tags: Bill Moyer, Dirty Linen