(NEW YORK)–PEN America condemns the cancellation of a graduate-level course at the University of Houston, “Confronting Oppression & Injustice,” as an egregious example of the censorship spreading across public colleges and universities in Texas. The cancellation, which appears to reflect the expanding impact of Texas Senate Bill 37, shows blatant disregard for faculty expertise and for students’ freedom to learn.
“This is government censorship plain and simple, a direct attack on faculty expertise and students’ freedom to learn,” says PEN America’s Interim Program Director for Freedom to Learn, Amy Reid. “It violates principles of academic freedom and undermines the mission of the university, but more to the point, it thwarts students’ ability to fully engage with their studies and prepare for their chosen careers.”
The University’s decision to cancel the course, which had been a requirement for graduate students in the Master’s of Social Work program, was made abruptly, mid-year, with apparently no faculty input. The unexplained decision comes amidst reports in Inside Higher Ed that faculty at multiple campuses in Texas have been told verbally by administrators to cut references to gender in their syllabi and course materials, and that the University of Houston was completing a review of general education courses to jumpstart compliance with Texas Senate Bill 37. Though University of Houston did not confirm that the class was cancelled as a direct result of SB 37, PEN America warned in April that the law would sideline faculty voices in curricular matters and result in administrators making curricular and course decisions to appease politicians, rather than to provide students with a rigorous curriculum to prepare them for success. The sudden and unexplained cutting of this course bears out our concerns.
PEN America calls on the University of Houston to reverse its decision to cancel this course and to commit to recentering faculty expertise in curricular decisions.
“Faculty with subject area expertise are best able to decide which courses are necessary for student learning, not politicians,” says Reid. “When we allow politicians to dictate what is taught at universities, we open the door to authoritarian levels of government control in higher education and beyond.”
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Malka Margolies, [email protected], 929-383-1856