Reclaim Your Rights as a Liberal Educator

Feminist pedagogy is collaborative, says this theologian, and it can help us withstand assault from those who would shut down free inquiry.

By Julie J. Kilmer

As a feminist professor engaged in liberal education, I want to argue that in these troubled times, when conservative groups such as Students for Academic Freedom have set themselves in opposition to a "liberal professoriate," faculty need to keep in mind that the goal of higher education is to teach college students to use analytical thinking in the development of new ideas. Analytical thinking requires the freedom of inquiry to examine the worth of controversial ideas.

Students for Academic Freedom, just one of several new conservative student organizations, has chapters on 150 campuses. These chapters collect documentation of what they label as political abuses in the classroom and advocate for the "Academic Bill of Rights" developed by conservative activist David Horowitz. The group, according to its mission statement, promotes the belief that

the atmosphere that prevails on most college campuses today does not foster intellectual diversity or the disinterested pursuit of knowledge. Liberal Arts faculties at most universities are politically and philosophically one-sided, while partisan propagandizing often intrudes into classroom discourse. It is appropriate for faculty to want open-minded students in their classes, not disciples. Faculty bias is reflected in the curriculum of courses available, in the manner in which they are taught, in readings assigned for classroom study, and in discussions only open to one side of a debate.

These groups also encourage students to bring complaints against faculty to administrators. Feminist educators openly acknowledge differences in our classrooms, but that does not mean we must tolerate all ideas. A true liberal education should create a climate of critical analysis that allows us to examine the value of different ideas. Neither liberal nor feminist pedagogy demands an uncritical relativism or a false "balance" that would require, for example, peace studies to be balanced by war studies.

Intentional Disruption

Feminist pedagogy aims for equality in the classroom and supports cooperative learning, focusing on community in the classroom and continually analyzing the ways in which we can best engage students in critical thinking about the topics of inequality, privilege, and power. Students should feel free to express how they feel and should gain trust and respect from others for doing so. But what happens when our students take up the challenge posed by Students for Academic Freedom, Campus Watch, and other conservative groups? What happens to the feminist classroom when students challenge feminist principles?

Lynne Webb, communications professor at the University of Arkansas, in the Academic Review Quarterly reports six central principles of feminist pedagogy: reformation of the relationship between professor and student, empowerment, building community, privileging the individual voice, respecting personal experience in its diversity, and challenging traditional views of theory and instruction. Each principle contributes to the creation of a collaborative learning experience.

Are these practices effective when students intentionally confront professors and disrupt the classroom? How does intentional student resistance interfere with learning? Does it matter where resistance is rooted? Each time a student is resistant to feminist theories and ideas, should I ask if he or she has been placed in my class to question my teaching? How is my teaching affected if I enter the classroom each day asking, "Is today the day I will be called to the president's office?"

Mary McGee, dean of students for the School of General Studies at Columbia University, identifies, in a recent article in Religious Studies News, some of the key questions to consider in response to student resistance: "What do we do with this kind of challenge? Ignore it? Respond to it? Question it? Defend ourselves? Defend our profession? Invite the voices of our opponents into the classroom?"

Coping with Resistance

Feminist strategies might be used in the face of individual and collective student resistance. First, we must not be afraid to identify publicly and address directly students who work to undermine our teaching. I am suggesting not a hierarchical approach that emphasizes power differences, but clear, honest, and forthright conversation between professor and students. As Mary McGee says, "we need to teach and model for our students how one responds to this kind of criticism." When students are intentionally resistant or confrontational, it is important to name these dynamics in the classroom. This means not only asking students about their intentions in private conversations, but also talking about resistance and intentions with the entire class. In order to create a classroom climate in which students are free to express their ideas and at the same time are protected from being hurt by thoughtless or spiteful opinions, I often find that students speaking to each other directly is more effective than the same message coming from me.

We must also stay informed about the official stances of our institutions regarding academic freedom. What do the president and the trustees at your college or university have to say about academic freedom? Are they informed about the complicated issues of student resistance to feminist pedagogy and the confrontational tactics of conservative student groups? Would they support you if you were challenged by a member of Students for Academic Freedom? It is important to have these conversations before any problems surface.

Learn about the bills being introduced in state legislatures around the country that focus on the promotion of student academic freedom as defined by Horowitz and others. The conservative movement to support this effort is growing in strength and numbers. We are naïve if we believe these issues are not in our neighborhoods. We tell our own students to be informed; it is time for us to inform ourselves. Feminist educators must remain true to the feminist agenda of creating a collaborative learning experience that includes, honors, and values different opinions  while maintaining safe space for students and professors. And all liberal educators must continue to teach students to use analytical thinking in the development of new ideas. However, analytical thinking requires the freedom of inquiry to examine the worth of controversial ideas. It is time to fight for academic freedom in our colleges and universities, and to reclaim our rights as liberal educators.

The Rev. Julie J. Kilmer is associate professor of women's studies and religion and director of the Betsy Dole Women's Resource Center at Olivet College. Her e-mail address is Jkilmer@Olivetcollege.edu.

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