“Who controls what is taught in American universities
— professors or politicians?”
Yale Law professor Keith Whittington answers this
timely question and more in his new book, “You Can’t Teach That!
The Battle over University Classrooms.” He joins the podcast to
discuss the history of academic freedom, the difference between
intramural and extramural speech, and why there is a
“weaponization” of intellectual diversity.
Keith E. Whittington is the David Boies Professor of
Law at Yale Law School. Whittington’s teaching and scholarship span
American constitutional theory, American political and
constitutional history, judicial politics, the presidency, and free
speech and the law.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:00 The genesis of Yale’s Center for Academic
Freedom and Free Speech
04:42 The inspiration behind “You Can’t Teach
That!”
06:18 The First Amendment and academic freedom
09:29 Extramural speech and the public sphere
17:56 Intramural speech and its complexities
23:13 Florida’s Stop WOKE Act
26:34 Distinctive features of K-12 education
31:13 University of Pennsylvania professor Amy Wax
39:02 University of Kansas professor Phillip
Lowcock
43:42 Muhlenberg College professor Maura
Finkelstein
47:01 University of Wisconsin La-Crosse professor Joe
Gow
54:47 Northwestern professor Arthur Butz
57:52 Inconsistent applications of university
policies
01:02:23 Weaponization of “intellectual diversity”
01:05:53 Outro
Show notes: