Horowitzism = The New McCarthyism

As a card-carrying member of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and United University Professions (UUP), I often get their mailings on the state of our college campuses. The latest issue of "On Campus" has a disturbing article on a McCarthy-like witch hunt for "liberal bias in higher education" being conducted by David Horowitz. He has recently published a book entitled "The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America" in which he accused university professors of Marxist views based on "evidence", such as quoting Paul Robeson in a history class or being raised by Communist parents. He never spoke directly with his targets, instead relying upon web sites and hearsay evidence. Here is an excerpt from the On Campus article:

University of Illinois communications professor Robert McChesney, whose students have recognized him for his work, comes under attack by Horowitz for raising questions about the news media, its corporate ownership and what effect that has on news coverage. “Universities are one of the last institutions not entirely under their [conservatives’] thumb. They want to intimidate professors, want to shrink places where people can do independent work.

“I consciously avoid penalizing students for their political views,” he adds. “I’d be surprised if most of my colleagues aren’t the same way.”

“Horowitz’s screed is essentially a series of lies and misrepresentations,” says Juan Cole, a professor of history at the University of Michigan whose fields are Middle Eastern and South Asian history and religion. “I never have alleged a ‘Jewish’ ‘conspiracy’ ‘controlling’ the U.S. government, and Horowitz could never find any such quote. I have never, for instance, characterized Israel as a fascist state.”

What is more, Cole adds, “The allegation that humanities scholarship is politicized is a bald-faced lie. And the allegation itself is made as a Trojan horse for the purpose of sneaking in a politicization of the humanities!”

Larry Estrada, associate professor of ethnic studies at Western Washington University, is accused of favoring the creation of an independent Hispanic state in America’s Southwest to be called “Atzlan.” Said Estrada, “I think this attack is libelous. They never contacted me or talked to me about my viewpoints. I’ve never advocated secession.

“I feel he’s trying to discredit anyone who is attempting to bring in fresh viewpoints in academia,” he adds. “It’s the new McCarthyism.”

Horowitz has drafted legislation, an "Academic Bill of Rights" to impose restrictions on universities in their hiring practices, invitations to outside speakers, course design and grading systems. As the On Campus article calls it, this is the "Fox News fair and balanced approach to the academic business of higher education". This legislation has been spreading across the country. In the map below, the orange states have considered this legislation. PA and GA have passed this resolution.



The full text of the article is here: http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/on_campus/marchapril06/feature.htm