“It’s what she is asking for — that images of Muhammad never be shown, and by extension that everyone else, no matter what their views or beliefs, behave according to her own conservative religious rules — that is profoundly disrespectful, authoritarian, and anti-intellectual.” Exactly.
Is it that people have lost faith in reason or that the power conferred by religious belief is just irresistible?
First a little bit of where I am coming from. I’m part Iranian. My Iranian uncle is an art historian who not only specializes in Persian Islamic art he’s written several seminal texts on the matter.
I fundamentally believe that the professor in this case did everything right and proper and should never have been fired. She should be held up as a model for others to emulate when teaching difficult, challenging topics.
But, the thing that I have not seen anyone really discuss or question is the day to day experience of the young black Muslim woman attending Hamlin. We know, that black folk, women and Muslims all face constant bigotry, racism and erasure. I don’t know that she faces all of this on a daily basis but in a college where 60+% of the student population is white and as is 87+% of the faculty, I can only imagine the simple daily struggle.
And when you face constant erasure, then having someone in a position of power (irrespective of the off-ramps provided) forces you to do something, then it can be simply too much.
The fault here is fully Hamlin’s. They have failed in their attempts at building a truly supportive community. And instead of addressing that, they are shutting down intellectual discourse and shooting the messenger in the hopes that no one will notice.
I am a professor in a small, conservative private university who teaches controversial topics . Just because. Just because young people need to grapple with difficult and challenging ideas and because confirmation bias is all too common today. I am waiting to be reported on. Occasionally a student will write in a course evaluation that I seem to want to convince students to think like I do. I only want them to consider what the world looks like from different vantage points and not be quick to righteousness. And some things are just true. Women are increasingly badly dealt with. Prisons are money makers. The Bible is not history or "truth" except for those who believe in it. Beliefs come from somewhere and it is good to wonder where and why.
This story is unbelievable. Imagine if a young evangelical Christian complained that much of ancient and not so ancient art depicts women's breasts. How awful that Michelangelo depicted naked men. Lewd and lascivious. Or an Orthodox Jew was offended that God's name is spelled out. Where does this silliness end?
This took guts to write. I upgraded to a paid subscription because you put this out.
“It’s what she is asking for — that images of Muhammad never be shown, and by extension that everyone else, no matter what their views or beliefs, behave according to her own conservative religious rules — that is profoundly disrespectful, authoritarian, and anti-intellectual.” Exactly.
Is it that people have lost faith in reason or that the power conferred by religious belief is just irresistible?
First a little bit of where I am coming from. I’m part Iranian. My Iranian uncle is an art historian who not only specializes in Persian Islamic art he’s written several seminal texts on the matter.
I fundamentally believe that the professor in this case did everything right and proper and should never have been fired. She should be held up as a model for others to emulate when teaching difficult, challenging topics.
But, the thing that I have not seen anyone really discuss or question is the day to day experience of the young black Muslim woman attending Hamlin. We know, that black folk, women and Muslims all face constant bigotry, racism and erasure. I don’t know that she faces all of this on a daily basis but in a college where 60+% of the student population is white and as is 87+% of the faculty, I can only imagine the simple daily struggle.
And when you face constant erasure, then having someone in a position of power (irrespective of the off-ramps provided) forces you to do something, then it can be simply too much.
The fault here is fully Hamlin’s. They have failed in their attempts at building a truly supportive community. And instead of addressing that, they are shutting down intellectual discourse and shooting the messenger in the hopes that no one will notice.
Brilliant, Jill.
I am a professor in a small, conservative private university who teaches controversial topics . Just because. Just because young people need to grapple with difficult and challenging ideas and because confirmation bias is all too common today. I am waiting to be reported on. Occasionally a student will write in a course evaluation that I seem to want to convince students to think like I do. I only want them to consider what the world looks like from different vantage points and not be quick to righteousness. And some things are just true. Women are increasingly badly dealt with. Prisons are money makers. The Bible is not history or "truth" except for those who believe in it. Beliefs come from somewhere and it is good to wonder where and why.
This story is unbelievable. Imagine if a young evangelical Christian complained that much of ancient and not so ancient art depicts women's breasts. How awful that Michelangelo depicted naked men. Lewd and lascivious. Or an Orthodox Jew was offended that God's name is spelled out. Where does this silliness end?
I had only seen bits and pieces of this story. Thank you for putting them together so I could see the complete picture.
I absolutely agree...it was never meant to be this way as our nation was founded...