A Plea for Real Debate in Academe

A Plea for Real Debate in Academe 1

James Yang for The Chronicle Review

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James Yang for The Chronicle Review

A little over two years ago, I wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post titled "As a Republican, I'm on the Fringe," in which I argued that conservative and classic liberal views are marginalized in academe. I set up a new e-mail account to divert the likely deluge of responses; 234 responses later, I felt depressed. Conservative academics wrote of their trying experiences in academe. More common, however, were e-mail messages from conservatives who expressed what can only be described