Vandy professor gets grief for controversial police course

 Dr. Lisa Guenther, one of my Vanderbilt colleagues, is getting national scrutiny for a controversial new course titled: “Police Violence and Incarceration?”  The unusual level of scrutiny came after the Daily Roll Call reported on the course content and the professor’s affiliations. Click here to read the Daily Roll Call account of the course and the police reaction as reported in Fox Nation.

The course involves discussions of recent violence in Ferguson, Mo., and New York City and how the elite, well-off students feel about allegations of police brutality in the deaths of two black men, Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Course readings include the writings of philosophers such as John Locke as well as a bunch of current-day bloggers.

What do you think of this controversy?  Whether we like it or not, professors have worldviews and these affect every aspect of their lives.  Any social science professor who claims total neutrality is probably delusional. At most universities and colleges, professors have the autonomy to decide course content and grading criteria. Unless a course is required for graduation, students can vote with their feet. Conservatives can counter-balance the liberal influence in academia by encouraging their best and brightest to become part of the new generation of university professors.