protests
TagPhilosophy Lecturerer Allegedly Involuntarily Committed for Supporting Protestors
According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), Wu Yanan, a philosophy lecturer at Nankai University in Tianjin, China, was taken by authorities under false pretenses and confined in a psychiatric institution for supporting anti-lockdown protestors. (more…)
Iranian Philosophy PhD Student Reportedly Beaten to Death by Security Forces During Protest
According to Iran International, a Persian news channel, “Iranian PhD candidate Nasrin Ghaderi, 35, who was studying philosophy in Tehran died on Saturday after being beaten by security forces with baton during Friday protests.” (more…)
A Philosophical Note #for Mahsa: Fighting for Truth in an Epistemologically Polluted Area (guest post)
On September 13th, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was arrested in Tehran by the “Guidance Patrol” or “morality police” for allegedly not wearing a hijab properly. A few days later, she died in police custody “under suspicious circumstances, due to police brutality according to witnesses.” In the weeks since, large protests have taken place across Iran and elsewhere to cond..
Kathleen Stock Resigns from Sussex
Kathleen Stock has resigned from her position as professor of philosophy at the University of Sussex. (more…)
Protesting Cuts to Philosophy Departments Can Make A Difference
Recently announced plans to cut philosophy programs at the University of the West of England at Bristol (UWE) and Adrian College in Michigan have been reversed. (more…)
The Ethics of Social Distancing (and Why It Doesn’t Rule Out Protesting) (guest post by Travis N. Rieder)
“When I began writing this essay, public health-minded folks were arguing that social distancing is morally required, and expressing dismay at the pictures of partiers and beach-goers that surfaced after Memorial Day weekend. Just a couple weeks later, however, attention had shifted to the nationwide demonstrations against racism and police brutality, which was supp..
Peter Singer Talk in New Zealand Cancelled by Venue (Updated)
SkyCity, a hotel and entertainment complex in Auckland, New Zealand, that was scheduled to host a talk this June by Peter Singer, the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values at Princeton, has cancelled the event owing to controversy over the philosopher’s writings. (more…)
Professors Favor Free Speech
93 percent of faculty agree with the statement that, “niversity life requires that people with diverse viewpoints and perspectives encounter each other in an environment where they feel free to speak up and challenge each other.” There is almost universal support for the exchange of ideas and open discourse. (more…)
Academics Author Statement on Freedom of Thought and Expression
Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Professor of Politics at Princeton University, and Cornel R. West, Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard Divinity School have jointly authored “Truth Seeking, Democracy, and Freedom of Thought and Expression,” a public statement in favor of civil discourse and respectful disagreement on u..
Peter Singer Event Disrupted By Protestors
A University of Victoria event last week featuring philosopher Peter Singer (Princeton), organized by the university’s Effective Altruism club, was disrupted by protestors objecting to Singer’s views about disability. (more…)
Missouri Philosophy Issues Statement on Controversy over Racist Incidents (two updates)
The University of Missouri’s governing board is holding a meeting this morning to decide how to respond to calls by students and others for its president, Tim Wolfe, to resign. The calls for Wolfe’s resignation follow a number of racist incidents at the university over the past few months and are a response to the perceived lack of a satisfactory response to these i..
Trouble in Baltimore
On April 12th, 2015, Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man, allegedly ran away from a Baltimore police officer on a bicycle who had made eye contact with him. He was caught, arrested for possession of a switchblade, and dragged into a police van. At some point between his arrest and his delivery at a trauma center 40 minutes later, Gray sustained severe injuries th..
Today is National Adjunct Walkout Day
Today is National Adjunct Walkout Day (NAWD). There was some discussion of this here last week. Some information about the day and planned activities is at this Tumblr site, as well as on Facebook. The Chronicle of Higher Education interviews Ellen Schrecker (Yeshiva University), whose research includes academic labor and the broader labor movement, about the day. T..
Government Attempts to Interfere in Universities in Macedonia
Students and faculty in Macedonia have been protesting attempts by the government there to impose state-supervised exams for university graduates. Response to faculty involvement in the protests has been to propose a requirement that the government’s ministry of education approve the composition of thesis committees and be involved in thesis defenses.
Todd May (Cle..
Westboro Baptist Church to Picket Marquette (updated)
The Westboro Baptist Church, a bizarre anti-gay cult comprised largely of the extended family of its late founder, is planning to picket on the campus of Marquette University this Sunday (correction: next Monday) morning, citing Fox News’ misleading account of Marquette graduate student Cheryl Abbate’s handling of an undergraduate’s desire to discuss same-sex marri..
Philosophers Protest the Murder of 43 Students
Over a month has passed since the forced disappearance of the normalistas (student teachers) of the Raúl Isidro Burgos Rural Teachers College of Ayotzinapa, and still 43 remain missing.
On September 26, members of the Iguala municipal police and the Guerreros Unidos drug cartel ambushed the caravan of students as they traveled by bus within their home state of Gu..
Sit-in At Northwestern Re: Ludlow Suit (updated)
A group of graduate and undergraduate students at Northwestern University, including members of the department of philosophy, are planning a sit-in for tomorrow at the office of university president Morton Schapiro to protest the university’s decision to mediate its lawsuit with Peter Ludlow (previously), rather than continue with it in court. The university is only..
Cornel West Arrested in Ferguson
Cornel West (Princeton) was arrested in Ferguson, MO today while taking part in the “Ferguson October” rally, which has been attended by over 1,000 protesters. West said he attended the rally with the intent to get arrested. Details here and here.
(photo: Jim Young / Reuters, via The New York Times)