Column: 'Liberal university' no more than a myth
Zack Shovein
Issue date: 10/13/09 Section: Opinion
It's common to hear discussions about Hamline's status as a "liberal university." When this topic is discussed students are almost universal in their disapproving tone, though the cause of that disapproval varies wildly. We probably hear just as often about how Hamline isn't adequately living up to its alleged liberal values as we do that those values are, for one reason or another, objectionable.
Conservative claims of bias in the classroom have grown louder lately. Without totally dismissing claims of liberal bias, which is undoubtedly a complicated question, I'd like to challenge the extent of the claims that some conservative students make. Specifically, it's wrong to suggest that any student ever has reason to feel that their views have been unjustly marginalized or silenced by a professor. Conservatives frequently lose sight of the fact that regardless of any other factor Hamline is first and foremost a university.
That statement requires a little explanation. Certainly, just about anyone can call themselves a university‚ just look at all the evangelical schools teaching young earth creationism that attempt to claim the title. But reasonable people generally restrict the term to mean schools with a certain degree of academic credibility, that credibility gained through the maintenance of agreed upon standards. As with all standards, academic standards have at their core a set of values. Now, no matter what anyone wants to tell you, those values aren't abortion, atheism and big government, or even "community." Broadly speaking, as there isn't time in a single column to compile all scholastic values, those values can be defined as the rigorous pursuit of scholarship and dissemination of knowledge. In short, universities are places of research and education. At Hamline, as at all universities, these goals define the institution's purpose.
Critical debate is central to research and highly beneficial to education, which is what makes claims of marginalization so puzzling. Academics thrive on having their views challenged. All academic work can be boiled down to interpreting evidence, forming an argument in opposition to another's view and defending your position. When a professor makes a claim they aren't doing it willy-nilly or simply asserting an ideological view, but rather seriously engaging with a body of scholarship. This is true even when the claim is a seemingly ethical or normative one, for instance that a specific interpretation of "community" is a desirable goal.
Conservative claims of bias in the classroom have grown louder lately. Without totally dismissing claims of liberal bias, which is undoubtedly a complicated question, I'd like to challenge the extent of the claims that some conservative students make. Specifically, it's wrong to suggest that any student ever has reason to feel that their views have been unjustly marginalized or silenced by a professor. Conservatives frequently lose sight of the fact that regardless of any other factor Hamline is first and foremost a university.
That statement requires a little explanation. Certainly, just about anyone can call themselves a university‚ just look at all the evangelical schools teaching young earth creationism that attempt to claim the title. But reasonable people generally restrict the term to mean schools with a certain degree of academic credibility, that credibility gained through the maintenance of agreed upon standards. As with all standards, academic standards have at their core a set of values. Now, no matter what anyone wants to tell you, those values aren't abortion, atheism and big government, or even "community." Broadly speaking, as there isn't time in a single column to compile all scholastic values, those values can be defined as the rigorous pursuit of scholarship and dissemination of knowledge. In short, universities are places of research and education. At Hamline, as at all universities, these goals define the institution's purpose.
Critical debate is central to research and highly beneficial to education, which is what makes claims of marginalization so puzzling. Academics thrive on having their views challenged. All academic work can be boiled down to interpreting evidence, forming an argument in opposition to another's view and defending your position. When a professor makes a claim they aren't doing it willy-nilly or simply asserting an ideological view, but rather seriously engaging with a body of scholarship. This is true even when the claim is a seemingly ethical or normative one, for instance that a specific interpretation of "community" is a desirable goal.
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