Legislative investigations and academic freedom
Today, Inside Higher Ed reports that the Pennsylvania House approved House Resolution 177, establishing a committee with the power to investigate allegations of bias in public institutions in Pennsylvania. Thus far, this is the only victory of David Horowitz’s in any legislature. A few notes: As usual, the resolution observes paeans to academic freedom before […]
In the Georgia Archives (again)
I’m back in the Georgia Archives again this week, with a digital camera taking images of the local superintendents’ reports to the state department of education from the late 30s through the early 60s. At the moment, they don’t allow use of flash or tripods, so it’s an interesting challenge to hold my arms still […]
On patriotism and principles
I’m an educational historian, and sometimes there are gems in my field that say something to the world at large. Today, it’s from the wartime court decision on the Pledge of Allegiance, West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943): If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no […]
Independence is a state of mind
Thanks to former history grad student eb‘s reorganization of the blog no great matter, I found out about two of Timothy Burke’s entries on intellectual diversity from February and December 2004. In them, Burke points out the more subtle ruts that academics fall into based on disciplinary and institutional mores and suggests that most academics […]
More foolish search committee stuff
By Sherman Dorn on July 9, 2005
I’ve slowly come to agree with remarks I’ve seen in various places that the anonymous columns in the Chronicle of Higher Education constitute an attractive nuisance for whining academics. The latest case in point is anonymous Ivan Tribble, who warns potential bloggers of the dangers posed by search committees who might read one’s blog and […]
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