A Hispanic professor at San Diego State University was removed from teaching two classes after he showed a presentation slide that featured racial slurs against various ethnic identities.
J. Angelo Corlett, a professor of philosophy and ethics at SDSU, presented the lesson earlier this month to demonstrate a philosophical concept distinguishing the use of words versus simply mentioning words. It included slurs against black, Hispanic, Asian, and white people.
According to the San Diego Tribune, a black student who was not registered for the class took umbrage at the slide due to its mention of a slur against black people and confronted Corlett about it.
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Corlett told the outlet that he had been using the method of mentioning the slurs for 20 years. But following the student’s complaint, the university removed him from teaching the two classes that featured the lesson.
“You have to mention the words in order to explain why they are racist and should not be used,” the professor told the San Diego newspaper. “Some students are confused about what counts as racism. And some are more concerned about being offended than learning about the logic and science of language.”
The university’s action drew condemnation from several academic freedom organizations, including the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which sent an open letter to San Diego State University President Adela de la Torre calling the discipline against Corlett “wholly uncalled for.” The letter has been signed by faculty from a number of colleges and universities nationwide.
“Students are free, of course, to register criticisms of Corlett’s pedagogical methods, as Corlett undoubtedly recognizes,” the letter says. “But mere offense over a professor’s exercise of academic freedom falls far short of the threshold for disciplinary action.”
“We urge SDSU to promptly return Professor Corlett to the classroom, and to make a clear statement in support of his academic freedom rights,” it continues. “We worry that failure to do so will have a prolonged chilling effect on faculty expression and send the signal to your faculty that they teach difficult and controversial material at their own risk.”
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, a spokesperson for SDSU claimed “the information shared in the media coverage is not a complete reflection of what has occurred” and that “the university holds in highest regards all protections for academic freedom.”
“After reviewing multiple complaints from students, the university considered the severity of the situation and the support needed for our students, and reassigned the professor. Again, as this involves a personnel matter, the university cannot provide further information at this time,” the university said. “SDSU has a responsibility to review concerns raised and to respond. It is also the responsibility of our university to help ensure a quality learning environment for our students.”
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The university also pointed the Washington Examiner to statements from the Associated Students of SDSU, the Afrikan Student Union, and education professor Frank Harris, that supported the university’s decision to reassign Corlett.
https://twitter.com/Fharris3/status/1501318966412673026?s=20&t=371w0NlTG5XPbBx_A861hQ
“… For black students, attending Professor Corlett’s class was like repeatedly experiencing a hate crime,” Harris said. “Maybe not in the legal sense, but certainly in the moral sense and the experiential sense for the numerous Black students and women who have been harmed by his actions.”
Corlett did not respond to a request for comment.
