On the Impossibility of Free Inquiry within the American Academy
I. AS FLORIDA GOES. . .
“What is happening in Florida?,” asked The Chronicle of Higher Education toward the beginning of 2023. At first blush, this question may appear easy to answer, and the Chronicle’s reporters seem to have had little difficulty doing so: “Since the New Year,” they declared, “Gov. Ron DeSantis and his Republican allies have ramped up efforts to eradicate ‘woke’ ideology from public colleges.”1 This reply, which reads events in Florida as one skirmish within the so-called culture wars, is not wrong per se but it is far too superficial. To say only this is to fail to appreciate the underlying logic as well as the larger project that informs the state’s mandates regarding what can and cannot be said in university classrooms;2 the vitiation of tenure protections;3 the closure of diversity, equity, and inclusion offices;4 the enfeeblement of teacher unions;5 the disablement of accreditation reviews;6 the empowerment of governing boards and presidents in faculty appointments and dismissals;7 the installation of political cronies to key leadership positions;8 and the threat of substantial financial repercussions for those who refuse to succumb to these intrusions into the affairs of Florida’s public institutions of higher education.9
1. Francie Diep and Emma Pettit, What is happening in Florida?, T HE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION (Jan. 30, 2023), https://www.chronicle.com/article/what-is-happening-in-florida [https://perma.cc/85A3-Z9JJ].
2. For a discussion regarding the banning of specific arguments within higher education classrooms, see Matt Papaycik and Forrest Saunders, Florida’s governor signs controversial bill banning critical race theory in schools, WPTV (April 22, 2022), https://www.wptv.com/news/education/floridas-governor-to-sign-critical-race-theory-education-bill-into-law [https://perma.cc/MQ4M-E2UG]. And for a discussion about the imposition of substantive curricular mandates, see Divya Kuman, Florida’s new higher education law faces legal challenges, TAMPA BAY TIMES (August 15, 2023), https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/2023/08/15/floridas-new-higher-education-law-faces-legal-challenges/ [https://perma.cc/RAV3-DWFP]. Finally, for a critical analysis of these mandates, see Timothy V. Kaufman-Osborn, Who rules the curriculum at Florida’s universities?, ACADEME BLOG (December 5, 2022), https://academeblog.org/2022/12/05/who-rules-the-curriculum-at-floridas-universities/ [https://perma.cc/5UBB-3KKV].
Divya Kumar, DeSantis signs bill limiting tenure at Florida’s public universities, TAMPA BAY TIMES (April 19, 2022), https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/2022/04/19/desantis-signs-bill-limiting-tenure-at-florida-public-universities [https://perma.cc/YN2Y-85JC].
Brenno Carillo, DeSantis signs SB 266: How does the new law restrict DEI programs at public universities?, DAYTONA BEACH NEWS-JOURNAL (May 16, 2023), https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/state/2023/05/16/desantis-signs-bill-banning-dei-programs-in-public-universities/70223248007/ [https://perma.cc/ZU7Y-YUJL].
Jim Saunders, DeSantis signs bill restricting teacher, public sector unions, TAMPA BAY TIMES (May 9, 2023), https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2023/05/09/desantis-signs-teacher-public-employee-union-bill-law/ [https://perma.cc/4BWQ-D3CN].
Josh Moody, Florida’s accreditation shuffle begins, INSIDE HIGHER ED (August 30, 2023), https://www.insidehighered.com/news/governance/accreditation/2023/08/30/flas-accreditation-shuffle-begins-one-college-gets-us [https://perma.cc/WC4L-PWCV].
Thomas B. Edsall, ‘The death knell for higher education in Florida,’ THE NEW YORK TIMES (March 8, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/08/opinion/desantis-florida-history-colleges.html [https://perma.cc/EEU6-TVDA].
For but one example of this phenomenon, see Josh Moody, DeSantis appoints DEI critics to Florida University’s board, INSIDE HIGHER ED (October 27, 2023), https://www.insidehighered.com/news/governance/trustees-regents/2023/10/27/desantis-chooses-dei-critics-florida-polytechnic-board [https://perma.cc/68AJ-8EJ7].
On the threat of financial consequences for those who disobey, see Gerson Harrell, UF’s choice: Change teachings on racism or risk $100M in funding due to DeSantis’ ‘Stop Woke’ Act, THE GAINESVILLE SUN (May 9, 2022), https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/2022/05/05/desantis-stop-woke-act-could-cost-university-florida-100-million-funding-racism-teaching/9629890002/ [https://perma.cc/XJ44-RAED].