sexual assault
TagDo Something! Reflections on MeToo and Philosophy (guest post) (updated)
When several years ago I posted the screenshot of a defamatory tweet by a serial harasser on my Facebook page (for “friends” only), I did not expect how people would react to this. Tenured philosophers, including many with left-wing or liberal politics cautioned me to take down the post. They private messaged me urging I should take it down, and even publicly chided..
Lecturer Fired Over Sexual Misconduct Allegations
A lecturer who taught philosophy-related courses at Tembusu College, which is a part of the National University of Singapore (NUS), was fired by the university following an investigation of two allegations against him of sexual misconduct. (more…)
Sexual Harassment in Philosophy, Part 2 (guest post by Janice Dowell and David Sobel)
The following is a guest post* by Janice Dowell and David Sobel, professors of philosophy at Syracuse University, with help from several other philosophers. It is the second in a two-part series on sexual harassment in philosophy. Part 1 is here. (more…)
Baylor: Dougherty Responsible for Violating Sexual Harassment and Interpersonal Violence Policy (Several Updates)
An investigation at Baylor University has determined that Trent Dougherty, a philosophy professor there since 2009 who specializes in philosophy of religion, violated the school’s Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment and Interpersonal Violence Policy. Dougherty resigned from the University earlier this week, though according to a philosophy faculty member, “tenured m..
Stubblefield Pleads Guilty (Update: Sentenced to “Time Served”)
Anna Stubblefield, the former professor of philosophy at Rutgers University-Newark whose October 2015 conviction for sexually assaulting a disabled man was overturned last June, has now pleaded guilty to third-degree aggravated criminal sexual contact. (more…)
Reporting of Sexual Assault and Harassment in Philosophy (updated)
I recently saw a post on social media comparing the current deluge of accusations of sexual harassment and assault being made and taken seriously in entertainment, news media, and politics, with how little of that seems to be happening in philosophy. (more…)
Philosophers On The Art of Morally Troubling Artists
The news over the past several months has been full of revelations of sexual harassment and assault by men involved in arts and entertainment and other fields (for lists of recently revealed cases, see here and here). The cases have brought to the public’s attention a variety of questions concerning power, justice, gender relations, privacy, business practices, and ..
Kipnis’s Book On Philosophers’ Title IX Cases
By now, many of you may have heard that Laura Kipnis, a professor in the School of Communication at Northwestern University, has written a book, Unwanted Advances, about Title IX cases and attitudes about sex she takes to be prevalent on college campuses. (more…)
A Philosophy Paper’s Part In A Title IX Lawsuit
A former undergraduate who majored in philosophy at Yale has filed a Title IX lawsuit against the university. The student, a male referred to as “John” in the lawsuit, is suing on grounds of hostile educational environment, sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, erroneous outcome, selective enforcement, 14th Amendment due process, equal protection,and decla..
Disability Studies Quarterly Is Reviewing Stubblefield’s Articles
A philosophy professor who wishes to remain anonymous wrote to the editor of Disability Studies Quarterly in the wake Anna Stubblefield’s conviction for aggravated sexual assault of a severely disabled man requesting that the journal issue a retraction of an article purportedly co-authored by Stubblefield and her victim. From that letter:
Earlier this month, phi..
Stubblefield Convicted of First-Degree Aggravated Sexual Assault
Anna Stubblefield, a professor of philosophy at Rutgers-Newark, was found guilty of two counts of felony first-degree aggravated sexual assault for raping a mentally disabled man she was introduced to in order to help him learn to communicate (previously). NJ.com reports:
The jury… convicted the 45-year-old philosophy professor of sexually assaulting a 34-year-..
A Response to Daily Nous (guest post by Laura Kipnis)
The following is a guest post* by Laura Kipnis, professor in Northwestern University’s School of Communication. Professor Kipnis wrote an opinion piece for the Chronicle of Higher Education, “Sexual Paranoia Strikes Academe,” in which she argued against certain policies and attitudes regarding sexual relations between faculty and students. In doing so, she referred ..
Ludlow to Face Hearing; Accuser Regrets Coming Forward
The Chronicle of Higher Education has a new article (paywalled) on the complaints at Northwestern University regarding Peter Ludlow and the recent discussion of those complaints by Laura Kipnis in a pair of articles (for CHE). According to CHE, “Northwestern has banned from the campus, he said, and has scheduled a hearing for next month on whether he should be fire..
Northwestern and Title IX: What’s Going On (updated)
Title IX issues at Northwestern University are currently receiving a lot of attention, largely in editorial pieces and comments that obscure or omit certain facts. Since these facts may be relevant to your opinion about the events at Northwestern and Title IX more generally, and since the events in question centrally involve a philosophy professor and a philosophy g..
Ludlow’s Appeal Fails
Peter Ludlow had sued Sun-Times Media, Cumulus Broadcasting, and Fox Television Stations, Inc., for defamation, including describing the sexual assault he has been accused of as “rape.” The lawsuit had been dismissed, and Ludlow appealed the dismissal. The appeal has now failed. The court “affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint alleging defamation and false..
Banning the Guilty?
A philosophy professor who wishes to remain anonymous writes in with the following question:
If a member of the philosophical profession has been found to have violated his or her institution’s sexual harassment and/or sexual assault policies (especially more than once), should there be any restrictions on his or her future participation in professional events, s..
Sexual Misconduct at Arizona State’s Honors College
In light of recent discussions of professor-student sexual relations (here, for example), readers might be interested in learning of about what has been happening at Barrett, the Honors College of Arizona State University.
In the past few years, Barrett has terminated the contracts of at least three professors who engaged in sexual relationships with students. Jo..
James Murphy (not Tooley) on “The Colorado Sex Scandal” (corrected & updated)
CORRECTION: It appears that, contrary to what I initially posted, Professor Tooley did not write the report mentioned in this post. I was provided a link to the report by a source who prefers to remain anonymous, was told it was by Tooley, and it is hosted on Tooley’s site. However, according to this page, the author of the report is one James Murphy. My apologies t..
Student’s Suit Against Northwestern Dismissed
The lawsuit against Northwestern University by the student who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Peter Ludlow was thrown out by a federal judge earlier today. The lawsuit had claimed that the university had mishandled the student’s complaints, and asked for the university to pay her medical and legal bills, her tuition, and to compensate her for emotional distre..
Update on Stubblefield Case
Anna Stubblefield, a professor of philosophy at Rutgers-Newark who had been accused of sexually assaulting a mentally disabled student in her office (previously), will be in court in December and January for a pair of evidence hearings, according to an article at NJ.com.
From the article:
Prosecutors allege Stubblefield, 44, of West Orange, repeatedly sexually..
An Open Letter of Support (guest post)
The following guest post* is an open letter from John Greco (St. Louis University), Don Howard and Michael Rea (University of Notre Dame), Jonathan Kvanvig (Baylor University), and Mark Murphy (Georgetown University).
An Open Letter of Support
What follows is a statement of support for people in our profession who are suffering various trials either as victim..
Student Indemnification
Inside Higher Education has an article on universities indemnifying students who file charges of sexual assault and harassment for lawsuits from those they are accusing. The article follows up on Jennifer Lackey’s guest post here, “Two Ways To Help Victims” and focuses on the Ludlow case at Northwestern University.
Barnett Sues CU-Boulder for $2m (updated)
David Barnett, whom the University of Colorado is moving to fire (previously), is suing the university for $2 million, claiming that university Chancellor Phil DiStefano and philosophy professor Alison Jaggar made defamatory statements about him. From The Daily Camera:
In his notice of claim, Barnett says the statements made by CU officials have damaged his reput..
Ludlow Sues Undergraduate (updated)
Peter Ludlow (Northwestern) is suing the undergraduate who accused him of sexually assaulting her. The lawsuit “alleges that the student knowingly made false statements to news media and Northwestern professors after he rebuffed her sexual advances.” Ludlow had previously launched a defamation lawsuit against Northwestern University officials, fellow philosophy prof..
Open Letter from the Northwestern Philosophy Graduate Students (Guest Post)
In June it was reported that Peter Ludlow was suing officials, a professor, and a graduate student at Northwestern University for defamation, gender discrimination and invasion of privacy. The following guest post* is an open letter to the philosophical community adopted by the Northwestern University Philosophy Graduate Students by way of a vote.
Open Letter from..
Two Ways to Help Victims (Guest Post by Jennifer Lackey)
Jennifer Lackey is professor of philosophy at Northwestern University. She works mostly in epistemology, with an emphasis on social epistemology. She is the author of Learning from Words: Testimony as a Source of Knowledge (OUP), has edited collections on the epistemology of testimony and disagreement, and has written very many articles on these and other topics. In..
Update on Barnett
David Barnett, whom the University of Colorado is attempting to fire based on claims that he retaliated against a graduate student for her accusations of sexual assault by fellow graduate student (previously), “has been given relief from teaching duties, with pay, until he is given a hearing on the allegations against him,” according to his attorney. Barnett, an ass..
Hiring and “Unofficial” Information
The recent story about East Carolina’s offer to Colin McGinn has generated a variety of reactions, some of which concern what kinds of information it’s permissible for academic employers to take into account in deciding whether to make someone an offer. Of particular concern here is the status of information about a candidate’s past behavior that could be categorize..