Campus Report: Prof takes issue with 'dangerous' label
He has been at Purdue 38 years
By Tanya Browntbrown@journalandcourier.com February 22, 2006
A Purdue University professor says he is disturbed by allegations recently made against him on national television during a segment of the Fox News show Hannity and Colmes.
Conservative author and lecturer David Horowitz criticized political science professor Harry Targ on the show on Feb. 15 while promoting his book, The ProFessors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America.
Targ, who has taught at Purdue University for 38 years, said Horowitz's comments amount to "an attack on the free flow of ideas at the university and on peace studies as a program."
Horowitz stood by his statements on Tuesday, saying Targ is a communist who hopes to indoctrinate his students rather than teaching them a legitimate course of study.
"I don't have off the top of my head the academic guidelines at Purdue," Horowitz said in a telephone interview. "But they should look at those guidelines and see if a course which takes students to a communist, terrorist state -- Cuba -- is ... an academic course about war and peace, or is it designed to convert students to a particular point of view?"
He admitted he never attended a class taught by Targ, but chose most of the professors based on their writings and the curricula of their classes.
He also said peace studies, women's studies and African-American studies, all of which are taught at Purdue, are not legitimate disciplines because they sprang from a political movements.
Provost stands behind Targ
Purdue's provost, Sally Mason, defended Targ and the programs offered at Purdue, saying, "I have all the confidence in the world that Harry is not trying to convert students to communism, and I believe our students are smart enough to evaluate all the sources presented to them.
"If you know Harry, you know he is a thoughtful, caring teacher, who has done his very best to present a class that delivers a variety of viewpoints, including I'm sure his own, in a very reasonable fashion."
While admitting that many of the disciplines Horowitz criticizes developed from political movements, she said that a great amount of scholarship surrounding the programs has been created as each has evolved.
Purdue, she said, does not question professors about their political beliefs, in accordance with federal law.
"I'm not sure what upsets David Horowitz so much. He seems a zealous convert from the radical he was in the '60s to the conservative he is now," Mason said.
"I suspect he's anxious to sell lots of copies of his book."
Students differ on allegations
Targ's students differ on whether or not the professor actually favors communist ideals.
"It's propaganda," said Dwaine Jengelley, 24, a political science graduate student at Purdue. "I don't agree with anything (Horowitz) said. I've only taken one class with professor Targ, but I got no indication that he would be anti-American."
James G. King, 31, who graduated with a political science major and peace studies minor from Purdue last year, said he believes Targ to be a communist.
"He's a revisionist when it comes to the Cold War. He thinks the U.S. was more to blame for it than the Soviet Union," King said of Targ.
"But he admits that it's revisionist and he teaches you the traditional view," King said. "He lets students debate him in class in front of other students. He doesn't silence other opinions and he doesn't ridicule other students for stating their views, so there I take objection to what Horowitz said."
McCarthyism or academic fairness?
Targ said Horowitz's comments serve as a reminder of American history.
"After World War II, social scientists and some mathematicians said we ought to devote some of our skills to a rigorous study of war and peace, because of the threat of nuclear warfare, and that is what peace studies is about," he said. "Basically everything Horowitz said about me was incorrect.
"Some of us older folks remember McCarthyism. What Horowitz wants to do is get state legislatures to pass laws requiring employers to do ideological litmus tests. I think that would have a chilling effect."
Horowitz denies a connection to McCarthyism.
"What my academic bill of rights does is take existing academic freedom provisions, which say professors should not introduce controversial matter which is irrelevant to the subject, and enforce them," Horowitz said.
Targ hopes the debate will remind people to express themselves.
"We do need to be vigilant," he said. "There is a threat of silencing people. The most vitally important aspect of a working democracy is the free exchange of ideas."
By Tanya Browntbrown@journalandcourier.com February 22, 2006
A Purdue University professor says he is disturbed by allegations recently made against him on national television during a segment of the Fox News show Hannity and Colmes.
Conservative author and lecturer David Horowitz criticized political science professor Harry Targ on the show on Feb. 15 while promoting his book, The ProFessors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America.
Targ, who has taught at Purdue University for 38 years, said Horowitz's comments amount to "an attack on the free flow of ideas at the university and on peace studies as a program."
Horowitz stood by his statements on Tuesday, saying Targ is a communist who hopes to indoctrinate his students rather than teaching them a legitimate course of study.
"I don't have off the top of my head the academic guidelines at Purdue," Horowitz said in a telephone interview. "But they should look at those guidelines and see if a course which takes students to a communist, terrorist state -- Cuba -- is ... an academic course about war and peace, or is it designed to convert students to a particular point of view?"
He admitted he never attended a class taught by Targ, but chose most of the professors based on their writings and the curricula of their classes.
He also said peace studies, women's studies and African-American studies, all of which are taught at Purdue, are not legitimate disciplines because they sprang from a political movements.
Provost stands behind Targ
Purdue's provost, Sally Mason, defended Targ and the programs offered at Purdue, saying, "I have all the confidence in the world that Harry is not trying to convert students to communism, and I believe our students are smart enough to evaluate all the sources presented to them.
"If you know Harry, you know he is a thoughtful, caring teacher, who has done his very best to present a class that delivers a variety of viewpoints, including I'm sure his own, in a very reasonable fashion."
While admitting that many of the disciplines Horowitz criticizes developed from political movements, she said that a great amount of scholarship surrounding the programs has been created as each has evolved.
Purdue, she said, does not question professors about their political beliefs, in accordance with federal law.
"I'm not sure what upsets David Horowitz so much. He seems a zealous convert from the radical he was in the '60s to the conservative he is now," Mason said.
"I suspect he's anxious to sell lots of copies of his book."
Students differ on allegations
Targ's students differ on whether or not the professor actually favors communist ideals.
"It's propaganda," said Dwaine Jengelley, 24, a political science graduate student at Purdue. "I don't agree with anything (Horowitz) said. I've only taken one class with professor Targ, but I got no indication that he would be anti-American."
James G. King, 31, who graduated with a political science major and peace studies minor from Purdue last year, said he believes Targ to be a communist.
"He's a revisionist when it comes to the Cold War. He thinks the U.S. was more to blame for it than the Soviet Union," King said of Targ.
"But he admits that it's revisionist and he teaches you the traditional view," King said. "He lets students debate him in class in front of other students. He doesn't silence other opinions and he doesn't ridicule other students for stating their views, so there I take objection to what Horowitz said."
McCarthyism or academic fairness?
Targ said Horowitz's comments serve as a reminder of American history.
"After World War II, social scientists and some mathematicians said we ought to devote some of our skills to a rigorous study of war and peace, because of the threat of nuclear warfare, and that is what peace studies is about," he said. "Basically everything Horowitz said about me was incorrect.
"Some of us older folks remember McCarthyism. What Horowitz wants to do is get state legislatures to pass laws requiring employers to do ideological litmus tests. I think that would have a chilling effect."
Horowitz denies a connection to McCarthyism.
"What my academic bill of rights does is take existing academic freedom provisions, which say professors should not introduce controversial matter which is irrelevant to the subject, and enforce them," Horowitz said.
Targ hopes the debate will remind people to express themselves.
"We do need to be vigilant," he said. "There is a threat of silencing people. The most vitally important aspect of a working democracy is the free exchange of ideas."
1 Comments:
This is amazing. I stumbled upon this site while my girlfriend and I were joking about Prof. Targ being "dangerous." I know Professor Targ personally. Before this site, I had never heard Horowitz's comments about taking students to Cuba to turn them to communists. This Horowitz guy is a moron. I happen to be one of the select students who went on the maymester course, "The Mystic of Cuba" with Professor Targ. First of all, if one is wanting to change a person to a Communist, the isolated, decaying island of Cuba is not the place to take them. Secondly, Dangerous? Yeah, Prof. Targe is so dangerous, he rides a bicycle (with a helmet), is chair of the peace studies program. Lastly, maybe peace studies is one of those crazy "hippie" disciplines, but there are no courses labeled "peace studues." (Example, Peace Studies 101--How to overthrow the Government). Peace Studies minors take liberal arts courses...philosophy, political science, and the rest. So that makes liberal arts... a crazy hippie discipline born of a political movement. I wonder what Plato would say about being labeled a hippie? Seems like if it were up to Horowitz, who constantly undermines his own book by opening his mouth, we would be reduced to studying either science or math...no, probably just math, science is too dangerous.
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