Much Worse than McCarthyism: Resisting the Right-Wing War on Academic Freedom w/ ELLEN SCHRECKER

“We're looking at a lot of bad things in American history that we should have been thinking about over the past 50 years. What McCarthyism did, what it targeted with regard to the academic community—and that's really what I know the best—is that during the late 1940s and early 1950s, the focus of political oppression was on people who once were, had previously been near or were affiliated with the American Communist Party. It was focused on individuals who had once been in or near the Communist Party and who were refusing to cooperate with the witch hunt. That was it. That was what McCarthyism did. Today, what we're seeing is an attack on everything.”

In this episode of the Speaking Out of Place podcast, Professor David Palumbo-Liu speaks with Ellen Schrecker, who has been referred to as “the dean of the anti-anti-Communist historians.” Well known for her classic studies of McCarthyism, today Schrecker explains how much worse Trump’s regime is than what we saw in the 1950s and 60s. A fierce defender of democracy, Ellen explains the central role education plays in creating a public culture and in maintaining democracy. Our conversation takes many paths, including an indictment of Capitalism, of the dominance of economistic thinking and values, of the ways university leaders are bending a knee to Trump. We talk about the value of the humanities, the importance of autonomous forms of education and mutual support such as we saw in the pro-Palestinian encampments, and one of the most remarkable differences between the days of McCarthyism—the phenomenon of mass protests like #NoKingsDay.

(0:00) The Prequel To The Civil War The threats to education today compared to the 1950s

(7:20) Democracy And Education

(13:40) Capitalism And Anti-Science How corporate interests fund the suppression of climate science and universities

(23:20) The Capitulation Of Leaders Why modern university administrators are giving in to authoritarian blackmail

(33:40) The Loss Of Cultural Capital The targeted elimination of the humanities and the arts in higher education

(39:20) Unprecedented Resistance Finding hope in modern student politicization and mass protests

Episode Website

www.palumbo-liu.com

https://speakingoutofplace.com

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