ACTA in the NewsFree Speech
ASU professors fail to cancel Christian speaker’s ‘dangerous’ guest talk titled ‘Family Under Attack’
Arizona State University hosted an event yesterday featuring attorney Mary Hasson, whose Christian […]
To the Editors:
“Who Cares About Character?” by Professor of Ancient History Nadya Williams is breathtaking in its tendentiousness.
In her zeal to join Princeton University’s campaign to sully the reputation of Joshua Katz, one of the most distinguished scholars the Princeton Department of Classics has ever had, she even tortures the available evidence concerning Socrates. For someone holding a doctorate in Classics, this reflects badly on her—and her teachers.
According to Professor Williams, Socrates sexually exploited the handsome but dissolute aristocrat Alcibiades. It is true that there were rumors in antiquity that there may have been a physical relationship, but only an ideologue on a mission would twist this into a conviction and damnation of the philosopher. In Alcibiades’s own words, as told in the famous Platonic dialogue, The Symposium (216c–222b), try as the young sensualist might, he could not tempt Socrates into a sexual relationship. Classicists must give due weight to available textual evidence, and in this she egregiously fails. Given her sloppy scholarship, it is not surprising that Dr. Williams dismisses the defense of Professor Katz as merely a conservative initiative.
Does she deem Pen America to be part of that vast, right-wing conspiracy? Pen America excoriates Princeton’s firing of Professor Katz and correctly identifies the real issue as Princeton’s disregard for academic freedom and freedom of speech.
It is sad to see how Nadya Williams’s ideology triumphs over the professional discipline her subject should instill. An essay titled “Who Cares About Character” should itself pay more attention both to character and scholarly method.
–Michael B. Poliakoff
President, American Council of Trustees and Alumni
This letter was originally published here.
Arizona State University hosted an event yesterday featuring attorney Mary Hasson, whose Christian […]
Like many universities, Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh are struggling to protect free expression, encourage a plurality of views and foster habits of civil discourse on their campuses.
As a new administration comes into office and Congress begins its first session, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) calls on our representatives to turn their attention to American higher education and finally take decisive action. There is much to be done, but change is most urgently needed in the following five areas: […]
Launched in 1995, we are the only organization that works with alumni, donors, trustees, and education leaders across the United States to support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure that the next generation receives an intellectually rich, high-quality college education at an affordable price.
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