Six members of the Duke faculty said Monday night that they refused to be silenced by what they termed as attempts by critics to intimidate them or censor their opinions.
The charged panel discussion-entitled "Shut Up and Teach?"-addressed criticism toward academics who comment on controversial social and political issues.
The panelists at the talk-five of whom were signatories of an advertisement called the "listening statement" that was published in The Chronicle April 6, 2006-said the problems of faculty repression go beyond the events of last spring.
"We're talking about decades of the rhetorical tarring and feathering of faculty who step outside the confines of their research or their classroom," said Wahneema Lubiano, associate professor of African and African-American studies.
Lubiano said that while the issues being addressed by faculty arose in response to the lacrosse case, the discussion held Monday night was meant to address broader issues about the role of academia in society.
Maurice Wallace, associate professor of English and AAAS, said academia was a public enterprise and asserted the faculty's right to enter into conversations about social and political issues.
"It seems to me that the only way for professors to be professors is to enter the public discourse," Wallace said.
Associate Professor of AAAS Mark Anthony Neal said the purpose of academia is to comment on current pertinent issues.
"This is about an engagement with the public," Neal said. "To speak to the issues that speak to our constituencies."
The panel, however, did specifically respond to the aftermath of the lacrosse incident and the ensuing treatment of faculty.
Charles Piot, associate professor of cultural anthropology and AAAS, devoted his presentation to criticizing "Durham-in-Wonderland," an ongoing blog by KC Johnson, a history professor at Brooklyn College who is highly critical of the endorsees of the April 6 ad.
Piot called it "a voluminous and incessant commentary" on the lacrosse case that is "obsessively preoccupied with the so-called Gang of 88."
Panel members also spoke about the fear produced by threats from outraged individuals. The professors noted Duke faculty members have received thousands of pieces of hate mail as a result of their critique of the Duke culture in the midst of the lacrosse scandal.
"There are all different forms of fear-making," said Diane Nelson, associate professor of cultural anthropology, referring to the silencing of dissenters across history. "But eventually you become the change you were looking for."
To demonstrate the importance of articulating one's views and connecting with the public, Nelson passed around string that linked members of the audience to one another. As she spoke of repression, she hacked off the connecting string to emphasize how such actions cut people off from one another.
The other panelists said they hope that positive change will eventually come from the discourse promoted by the faculty members.
"Crisis historically has often been critical to the production of new knowledge," said Pedro Lasch, assistant professor of the practice of visual arts. "When we are engaging in knowledge, we have to be listening."
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