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Its January in Wisconsin which means that a GOP state official is attacking a professor for his syllabus. 1/
madison.com/wsj/news/local…
madison.com/wsj/news/local…
Full disclosure, Professor Ken Mayer is a co-author and friend of mine. I have also met a couple of times with Dave Murphy, who is not any old legislator, but the chair the Assembly higher education committee, and found him to be a very nice guy. 2/
First, lets present what it is that was so offensive. In his syllabus, the professor noted that there are two very different views about Trump. Murphy charges that using such language demonstrates bias that disqualifies the professor. 3/ 
So lets get some obvious stuff out of the way. The professor is working at a public university, and political pressure on his teaching is not just an infringement on academic freedom but a potential first amendment violation. 4/
The case also very much illustrates a Trumpian threat to free speech. A professor is to be censured for asking students to read dubious sources like the New York Times, or listing actual documented events that happened in the Trump administration. 5/
But I want to dig a little deeper here by looking at the record of the two guys involved. Murphy couched his criticism of Mayer in by saying "If the course description already tells basically what the bias is going to be in the course, it’s pretty hard to sift and winnow that." 6
"Sift and winnow" is a very Wisconsin reference. It comes from a UW report from 1894 that defended economist Richard Ely from efforts to have him fired by Wisconsin politicians for his progressive views. Its become a byword for academic freedom. UW-Madison even has a plaque! 7/
For Murphy "sift and winnow" is just empty phrase he evokes as he absolutely repeats the bad behavior that was being the coining of the term in the first place: politicians should not try to get faculty fired for their beliefs 8/
When I met Murphy he emphasized how important free speech was to him, but his idea of free speech seems to be anchored in an inoffensive bothsideism.
And, as I wrote about 2 yrs ago, he is a serial offender on this stuff. nytimes.com/2017/01/09/opi… 9/
And, as I wrote about 2 yrs ago, he is a serial offender on this stuff. nytimes.com/2017/01/09/opi… 9/
By contrast Ken Mayer is, since Don Downs and John Sharpless retired, probably the faculty on UW-Madison campus who has done more to work for free speech and including conservative voices on campus.
Its no surprise, and to their credit, College Republicans are defending him 10/
Its no surprise, and to their credit, College Republicans are defending him 10/
From another former UW-Madison colleague. I'd only add that Ken's teaching and research have won multiple awards, and he has been cited in a Supreme Court opinion. In short, he could have led Madison many times and does not need this shit. 11/
To sum up, an influential GOP politician evoked academic freedom while mailing a faculty member's bosses to complain about a syllabus, doing his best to put an actual defender of free speech on campus into hot water. 12/
This is how attacks on free speech go viral in the conservative media. The DeVos-funded faculty attack website College Fix is now pushing the story, disingenuously shorn of any context, because the truth is for losers. 13/
How the supposedly pro-free speech/anti-identity politics people demonize an individual professor for his views.
Disaffected student -> state legislator -> fringe conservative media -> Fox News within 24 hours. 14/ (h/t @weescon)
Disaffected student -> state legislator -> fringe conservative media -> Fox News within 24 hours. 14/ (h/t @weescon)
All of this initiated by a student unhappy that Profs syllabus didn't have more praise for Trump.
She, and subsequent attacks, exclude the part of the class where he emphasized the importance of free exchange of ideas, and looking beyond partisan labels. Via @rebeccaglendon 15/
She, and subsequent attacks, exclude the part of the class where he emphasized the importance of free exchange of ideas, and looking beyond partisan labels. Via @rebeccaglendon 15/
Rep Murphy: "I am a fierce advocate for academic freedom." But he also thinks its fine for politicians to report award-winning faculty to their bosses if he disagrees with their teaching. Such actions have a chilling effect on campus speech. 16/ @chronicle chronicle.com/article/State-…
Statement of @GOPBadgers defending Mayer. The difference between them and Mayer's outside GOP critics is that they have actual experience of dealing with him 17/
