UChicago history professor added to the ‘radical watchlist’
Accused of blaming North Korea’s domestic issues on US
Launched on November 21st, the website Professor Watchlist calls out about two hundred college professors from institutions across the nation who “advance a radical agenda in lecture halls.”
The conservative watchlist asserts its mission “to expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.”
The site accuses Dr. Bruce Cumings of blaming North Korea’s domestic issues on the United States rather than their communist government. According to Professor Watchlist, “Cumings denies the existence of a massive famine in North Korea in the 1990s” and “blames the United States for North Korea’s problems.”
Professor Watchlist is a project of Turning Point USA, a conservative activist group.
“TPUSA will continue to fight for free speech and the right for professors to say whatever they wish; however students, parents, and alumni deserve to know the specific incidents and names of professors that advance a radical agenda in lecture halls,” as stated on Professor Watchlist’s page.
While Dr. Cumings has not responded to the watchlist, other professors have.
Take Emory University professor of philosophy George Yancy for example. Yancy responded to the watchlist’s allegations in a New York Times article “I Am a Dangerous Professor,” in which he defends academic freedom along with freedom of speech in general.
The watchlist is still new and growing. It will be interesting to see if Professor Watchlist can keep up with UChicago. Given the institution of academic freedom that we are, we will certainly have a lot of material to offer their list.