This article has been updated since publication.
Far-left academics have criticized the University of Houston for canceling a “Confronting Oppression & Injustice” course this month. The university stated it had “paused” the class as part of a “routine review.”
It was widely reported that this was a required class covering topics such as critical race theory, sexual preference, and intersectionality for students pursuing a master’s degree in social work.
Inside Higher Ed reported the syllabus stated the course “will examine a set of intersectional social justice issues, centering race, that impact our daily lives in differential ways and inform the prejudices we hold, and that exist, within larger structures of power.”
The university informed students that the class was not available at this time and that this would not affect students’ ability to complete the social work master’s program or graduate on time.
Alan Dettlaff, a professor at the university’s Graduate College of Social Work, commented about the cancellation on BlueSky.
“Yesterday I was told that the class I’m scheduled to teach this month, Confronting Oppression & Injustice, is no longer part of our curriculum,” he wrote on October 11. “This is a required class yet there was no discussion, no faculty vote, just an email saying the class no longer exists. This is what it’s like in Texas now.”
A new state law—Senate Bill 37—abolished “shared governance” in Texas, the system in which universities’ boards of regents delegated authority to university presidents, who subsequently shared power with the faculty, which was represented by a faculty senate. Such faculty bodies are now only allowed to exist in an advisory capacity.
The new law also requires boards of regents of public universities to conduct regular reviews of undergraduate curricula.
State lawmakers made these and other reforms after revelations of ideological indoctrination in higher education. The latest example occurred this summer in a Texas A&M children’s literature class, where a recording caught the class instructor throwing a student out of class for objecting to promoting transgenderism to minors.
The Texas A&M Board of Regents announced a systemwide curricula audit afterward. The University of Houston and others soon followed.
“The University of Houston regularly evaluates all courses to ensure they remain current, relevant and aligned with evolving professional standards and workforce needs,” a University of Houston spokesperson stated. “As part of a routine review of the Master in Social Work curriculum, one course has been paused for the fall semester. UH remains committed to supporting students in achieving their academic goals and preparing them for professional success.”
The University of Houston’s American Association of University Professors chapter criticized the university’s decision, framing it as an attack on free speech.
“The cancellation of a required class at the Graduate College of Social Work reflects intense political pressure on Texas universities to censor content that some find objectionable,” its statement to Inside Higher Ed read in part. “When elected officials pressure universities to remove or alter courses, they achieve indirectly what the First Amendment prohibits them from doing directly: censoring ideas and viewpoints they dislike. Texas students will be the worse for it.”
The Texas chapter of the American Association of University Professors and subchapters at various state universities have expressed opposition to accountability in academia. On October 25, the state chapter held a summit to discuss the situation in Texas.
Neither Detlaff nor UH-AAUP responded to a request for comment before publication.
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