Philosopher Steven Levine (U Mass/Boston) comments on Twitter on the proposal we noted previously:
The first line of my University's proposed mission is "to becoming an anti-racist and health-promoting institution." Not as side effects of our mission to pursue research and teach students, but as the mission itself.
The mission also involves the fact that we will—and I quote—"hold ourselves and each other accountable to ensure these values drive all decision-making in research, pedagogical innovations, resource allocation, and the development of policies and practices."
Those who work on purely theoretical issues in the sciences and elsewhere have been defined out of the mission. According to this passage, they will, in not directly forwarding these values in their work, be held 'accountable' for this.
We will, I think, deeply regret the social instrumentalization of the University. Many faculty think they are forwarding justice and pluralism by supporting this mission, when what they are really advancing is administrative and intellectual centralization.
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