Carrol
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: FW: Works and Days, important request Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2009 09:28:28 -0600 From: Christopher Breu <cdbreu at ilstu.edu> Reply-To: Christopher Breu <cdbreu at ilstu.edu> To: ENGLISHTALK-L at LISTSERV.ilstu.edu
Dear Colleagues,
Below find a request for support for academic freedom from a former colleague of ours. I'm hoping that you will take the time to write in support of academic freedom.
Best,
Chris
p.s. btw/ IUP is Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
-----Original Message----- From: Sophia A. McClennen [mailto:sam50 at psu.edu] Sent: Friday, February 13, 2009 11:21 PM To: 'Christopher Breu' Subject: FW: Works and Days, important request
Dear Chris, Could use a little help on this. I am hoping that you will have the time to send a note supporting the journal Works and Days, which has just published a volume on Academic Freedom and includes pieces by Ward Churchill and Norman Finkelstein among others, and has been coming under attack. They have also planned a launch event with Ward, Cary Nelson, Jeffrey Williams and myself, and they have been getting pressured to cancel it.
A note of support for the event and the journal would be really useful right now. The details are below. Spreading the word would be of use too.
Thanks, Sophia
Dr. Sophia A. McClennen Associate Professor of Comparative Literature, Spanish, and Women's Studies Graduate Director, Comparative Literature 427 Burrowes Building The Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 814-865-0032 e-mail: sam50 at psu.edu homepage: http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/s/a/sam50/
-----Original Message----- From: David B Downing [mailto:downing at iup.edu] Sent: Friday, February 13, 2009 11:13 PM To: [omitted] Subject: Works and Days, important request
Dear Contributors:
We are writing with a sense of urgency. As some of you may have experienced in defending your own principles of academic freedom, Ed and I are finding ourselves in the midst of a local, organized, right-wing attack on our decision to publish Ward Churchill's scholarship, to teach any of his materials in the classrooms, and especially to invite him to speak at IUP in our February 23rd symposium on academic freedom. The symposium also features other Works and Days contributors Cary Nelson, Sophia McClennen, and Jeff Williams. In the last week our English department secretaries have received a number of telephone calls objecting to the symposium, we are receiving emails of a highly contentious nature, but most importantly our university president and provost and communications/press director have been receiving strongly voiced objections, including threats to withhold donations. We have received word from our Provost that he is fully supportive of the symposium. However, you can imagine the content of some of the emails, and they are all coming from one side.
Many of these things do not come as a surprise, but at the present stage, the amplitude of the attack means we are asking for some help. If you could send a brief email supporting our publication and our symposium to our president, our provost, and our media and public relations director, we would very much appreciate it. Contributor copies of the journal were mailed, media mail, last week, so unfortunately you may not get your copy immediately.
In addition to sending any emails, could you please cc Ed and me (e.j.carvalho at iup.edu, downing at iup.edu)? The names and email addresses are as follows:
President Tony Atwater: Tony.Atwater at iup.edu
Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs, Gerald Intemann: Gerald.Intemann at iup.edu
Michelle Fryling, Media and Public Relations: Michelle.Fryling at iup.edu
Thank you, as always, for your contribution and support of Works and Days. Please let us know if you have any questions.
David and Ed
________________________________________________ ** Please include prior messages when replying to this message** David B. Downing Professor of English Director, Graduate Studies in Literature & Criticism Editor, Works and Days English Department, 110 Leonard Hall Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania Indiana, PA 15705-1094 USA Phone 724-357-2263 or 724-357-2261 E-mail downing at iup.edu