The firing of Ward Churchill from CU and the denial of tenure to Norman Finkelstein at De Paul are very different cases with their own particularities. Yet, they represent a pattern, and a purge which must be recognized, resisted and reversed. Combined, these two cases represent a significant precedent in the assault on dissent and critical thinking, one which can not be allowed to stand. Those responsible for these developments and are using them as a foundation for further attacks - on other dissenting scholars, on the tenure system, on ethnic studies and similar departments. It is imperative to understand the particularities of each case and how they fit into the overall attack on dissent and critical thinking – and support both scholars and the efforts to reverse the outrages against them.
Ward Churchill
- "All of us who value academic freedom should now stand in full solidarity with Ward Churchill. The outcome of his case at the University of Colorado is the best litmus test we have to tell whether the right-wing’s assaults on learning and liberty will stifle campus life in this country. Never in my lifetime have we in America more needed the sort of vigorous debate and creative controversy that Ward Churchill's distinguished career epitomizes. We all stand to lose if his principled defense fails." (Richard Falk, Emeritus Professor, Princeton University)
Check out our Churchill archives.
ReVisioning American History With Ward Churchill, an account of the student-organized class being taught by Ward Churchill.
Research Misconduct Complaint (07/19/2007), by Professor Ward Churchill. Pdf file.
Open Letter (04/19/2007), by Professor Margaret D. LeCompte, PhD.
The Plagiarism Charges Against Ward Churchill (06/12/2007), by Tom Mayer.
An Open Letter to CU Regents on Ward Churchill (06/23/2007), Gary Leupp. Counterpunch.
Research Misconduct Complaint Concerning Investigative Committee Report on Ward Churchill (05/28/2007). Doc file.
Open Letter from the National Project to Defend Dissent and Critical Thinking in Academia (04/12/2007), New York Review of Books.
Norman Finkelstein
- They did the wrong thing: the denial of tenure to Norman Finkelstein and Mehrene Larudee at DePaul University must be reversed, and very quickly … For now, a great victory has been handed to people who are essentially fascists. Why is it a great victory? Because, as with Germany in 1933, a decisive role was played by people who are liberals and even progressives. Even more, because a university that should have been one of the last places where something like this could happen is instead one of the first." (Bill Martin, Philosophy Department, DePaul)
Check out our Finkelstein archives.
A Battle for the Soul of DePaul, and for the Future of Academia, by the National Project to Defend Dissent and Critical Thinking in Academia.
Urgent Need to Right Wrongs at DePaul University (08/09/2007), by Bill Martin. Dissident Voice.
ACADEMIC FREEDOM ON TRIAL: NORMAN FINKELSTEIN AND THE MINORITY REPORT (08/09/2007), by Peg Birmingham, Professor of Philosophy, DePaul University.
The Poisoning of Academic Freedom: Strange Calculus at DePaul (06/28/2007), by Bill Williams. Counterpunch.
Protesting Norman Finkelstein’s Tenure Denial; or, Academic Freedom Declines across the U.S. – Part II, by Terri Ginsberg.
A Battle for Academic Freedom at DePaul (06/18/2007), by Matthew Abraham. Dissident Voice.
Denial of Tenure for Norman Finkelstein: Rising Outrage, and Raising Big Questions (07/15/2007), Revolution.
Dershowitz v. Finkelstein: Who's Right and Who's Wrong, by Frank J Menetrez.