let's be very clear: this is the SAME tactic most people would take if the UM Press published a book on holocaust denial or the swarminess of arab men (ala Ann Coulter). The issue is not the UM review, but what is being reviewed by the UM. I would expect and demand a review if a University press published a creationism based textbook for use in high schools.
--- Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
> From: "William K. Dobbs" <duchamp at mindspring.com
> To: "Kenneth Sherrill"
> <kenneth.sherrill at hunter.cuny.edu
> Subject: more on Harmful to Minors controversy
> Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2002 14:15:02 -0500
>
> Ken,
>
> The controversy at the University of Minnesota has
> taken an ugly turn. As
> you can see from the clips below, the UM has now
> ordered an extrenal review
> of UM Press policies. The review is a clear
> capitulation to pressure and
> criticism for publishing Harmful to Minors. The UM
> Press deserves praise.
> The UM itself deserves to be condemned for ordering
> the review under these
> circumstances. This is just the sort of action that
> has a chilling effect;
> editors at that press and elsewhere will be far less
> likely to publish
> controversial titles.
>
> -Bill Dobbs
>
>
> Star Tribune [Minneapolis, MN]
> April 5, 2002
>
> http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/2209184.html
>
> Child sex book scandal triggers review of U of M
> publishing arm
>
> Terry Collins, Star Tribune
>
> In response to national criticism of a soon-to-be
> released book about
> children's sexuality, the University of Minnesota on
> Thursday announced an
> external review of its publishing department.
>
> The review will be conducted by a panel of experts
> from other academic and
> university presses during a two-month period, said
> Christine Maziar, a
> university vice president who oversees the
> University of Minnesota Press.
> She said the review will cover policies and
> procedures for acquiring,
> reviewing and developing books.
>
> "We're going to turn this into an opportunity
> instead of a crisis response,"
> said Maziar, who is also dean of the U's Graduate
> School.
>
> The review is a response to critics of "Harmful to
> Minors: The Perils of
> Protecting Children From Sex" by Judith Levine, a
> New York journalist. The
> book argues that protecting children and teenagers
> from knowing about sex
> does more harm than good, and it contends that not
> all sexual interaction
> between adults and children is bad.
>
> The university has received more than 200 responses
> -- mostly negative. The
> book is being shipped and is scheduled for release
> next month.
>
> Maziar said Thursday that university officials "were
> quite concerned" about
> criticism of the book and noted the University Press
> is recognized
> nationally as one of the best. She said the review
> committee will look into
> whether the publishing division has met academic
> freedom and publishing
> standards.
>
> Critics of the book include Minnesota House Majority
> Leader Tim Pawlenty,
> who called the book's content "outrageous," and
> conservative groups such as
> Concerned Women for America.
>
> While neither the University Press nor the
> university endorses the theses of
> the authors it publishes, including Levine, Maziar
> said that it is the
> nature of academic presses to discuss and debate
> controversial material.
>
> "It takes a lot of courage for an individual or an
> institution to give voice
> to opinion and ideas where there is some
> disagreement," she said. "And the
> press may have very well done that in this case. And
> this is what a
> university press needs to do . . . to allow the
> entertainment of
> controversy, but also thoughtful and civil debate
> around those ideas."
>
> -- Terry Collins is at tcollins at startribune.com .
>
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> StarTribune.com
> April 4, 2002
>
> http://www.startribune.com/stories/468/2207092.html
>
> University press responds to furor over book on
> child sexuality
>
> By STEVE KARNOWSKI, Associated Press Writer
>
> MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Responding to criticism about an
> unreleased book on
> children' s sexuality, the University of Minnesota
> decided Thursday to set
> up an external review of its publishing house.
>
> Christina Maziar, a university vice president who
> oversees the University of
> Minnesota Press, said the review will cover policies
> and procedures for
> acquiring, reviewing and developing books. It will
> be conducted by people
> from other university and academic presses and take
> about two months, she
> said.
>
> The review is a response to critics of " Harmful to
> Minors: The Perils of
> Protecting Children From Sex" by Judith Levine.
>
> The book argues that young Americans, though
> bombarded with sexual images
> from the mass media, are often deprived of realistic
> advice about sex.
> Levine writes that abstinence-only sex education is
> misguided, and suggests
> the threat of pedophilia and molestation by
> strangers is exaggerated by
> adults who want to deny young people the opportunity
> for positive sexual
> experiences.
>
> Critics -- including Minnesota House Majority Leader
> Tim Pawlenty and
> conservative groups such as Concerned Women for
> America -- want the
> university to cancel the book and punish the people
> who approved it.
>
> University spokeswoman Amy Phenix said it' s too
> late to block the book
> because it' s already been printed.
>
> Maziar said the review is " an opportunity to make
> sure our practices are
> within the norms of university presses nationwide."
> She said the University
> of Minnesota Press is considered one of the best of
> its kind and expects the
> review will be mostly positive, but she added she' s
> hopeful it will make
> suggestions for improvements.
>
> " I cannot imagine that an external review, with
> those leaders from other
> academic presses, would suggest changes that
> undermine academic freedom, "
> said Maziar, who is also dean of the university' s
> Graduate School.
>
> Robert Knight, director of Concerned Women for
> America' s Culture and Family
> Institute in Washington, said the review is " a good
> step but it' s not
> enough. They should suspend publication of the book
> in the meantime."
>
> He said the value of the review will depend on who
> does it.
>
> " If this results in a circling of the wagons in the
> name of academic
> freedom, then it will serve no one, " he said. " But
> if it' s an honest
> assessment of the process and the content, then it'
> s a good step."
>
> Knight and the president of Concerned Women for
> America, Sandy Rios, wrote
>
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