Saturday, June 28, 2008

'Fascist demagoguery'

That's what they call it nowadays when students complain about a wacko professor:
A few months ago a former Dartmouth writing instructor, Priya Venkatesan, informed some of her former students that she was planning to sue them, along with Dartmouth. . . .
As Joseph Rago of the Wall Street Journal reports, she taught them that "scientific knowledge has suspect access to truth," inasmuch as "scientific facts do not correspond to a natural reality but conform to a social construct." . . .
[After students complained] She responded by accusing the students of "fascist demagoguery," consulting a physician about "intellectual distress," and canceling classes for a week. Later, as noted, she threatened to sue some of her students for creating a "hostile work environment," and to sue Dartmouth itself for countenancing the "harassment."
(Via Insty, a professor, but not wacko.) Her brave stand against "fascist demagoguery" will no doubt earn Professor Venkatesan a McArthur "genius" grant, so she can do oppo-research for Obama.

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