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Friday, May 31, 2024
Was Ron DeSantis Right about Sociology?
My new essay in the Chronicle of Higher Education doesn’t agree with Gov. Ron DeSantis’s decision to remove Introduction to Sociology from the general education curriculum in Florida’s 40 public colleges and universities, but it does explain the discipline’s increasing politicization, especially as demonstrated by the American Sociological Association’s resolution on the Israel-Hamas war.
Here is the gist:
I believe in the importance of sociology and its place in the general-education curriculum. But the discipline seems to be doing all it can to prove DeSantis right.
Consider, for example, the American Sociological Association’s Resolution for Justice in Palestine, which was recently adopted by a 59-percent majority in a membership vote.
There is not a single mention of Hamas or its October 7 massacre, as though Israel had invaded Gaza without provocation and for no purpose other than to inflict casualties. Coming from an organization that claims to study “the social causes and consequences of human behavior,” the list of predicates is remarkably one-sided and monocausal, composed in the style of an advocacy group rather than a scholarly association.
Shockingly, the resolution does not call for the release of Israeli hostages, which is obviously a necessary condition of any cease-fire. Even Rep. Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota and no friend of Israel, included the release of Israeli hostages in her own cease-fire demand.
The ASA could have issued a powerful statement in defense of Gazans — one that supported academic freedom, adhered to universal scholarly values, and recognized some complexity in the Israel-Hamas war. That would have buttressed the discipline’s claim to be “a crucial component of civic literacy.” A less extreme statement, unmarred by relentless anti-Israelism, might even have persuaded others to join the call for a cease-fire, including some of the 41 percent of members who voted against the resolution.
Instead, the ASA’s refusal to simply acknowledge the humanity of Israelis has reinforced DeSantis’s accusation that sociology has been hijacked by left-wing activists.
The full essay is here. CHE is paywalled, but most universities have subscriptions.
Posted by Steve Lubet on May 31, 2024 at 04:40 AM | Permalink
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