University of Austin: List of who's who of 'canceled' people behind new institute
America's culture war has taken a dramatic shift after a group of "canceled" academics, journalists, and entrepreneurs announced they would be forming a new university in Austin, Texas. Called the University of Austin (UATX), the new institution will be "dedicated to the fearless pursuit of truth" and "spirited discussion about the most provocative questions that often lead to censorship or self-censorship in many universities."
The announcement was made via journalist Bari Weiss' Substack on November 8, 2021. The article itself was written by Pano Kanelos, who stepped down from his role as president of St John's College in Annapolis in June. In recent months and years, many academics have faced immense backlash for their words and actions, leading to some high-profile resignations. That includes Dr. Cornel West of Harvard University and Portland State University's Peter Boghossian.
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While Dr West hasn't joined the university, Boghossian is one of the many names linked to UATX. The university will begin offering a summer program titled 'The Forbidden Courses' in 2022 and hopes to offer undergraduate programs by 2024. Here's a look at some of the big names attached to UATX.
The who's who of UATX
The Founding President is Kanelos, who will lead a 31-member advisory board that includes some notable names not just from the US, but also abroad. While we can't cover everyone, here's a quick look at just some of them-
Peter Boghossian: He left Portland State in September, citing the lack of "academic freedom" after he was found guilty of research misconduct for writing a series of hoax academic papers, which he did to prove just how poor peer-reviewed journals are.
Kathleen Stock: A former professor at the University of Sussex in the UK, Stock quit in October after being accused of transphobia for her work on gender and sex. It led to a three-year campaign of bullying and harassment, for her belief that biological sex matters.
Andrew Sullivan: A British-American journalist, Sullivan was booted from The New York Times Magazine for his conspiracy theories linking race to IQ in 2002. He also abruptly left writing for New York, to revive his blog The Dish on Substack.
Larry Summers: The former treasury secretary during the Clinton administration made headlines in 2015 for saying men outperform women in maths and sciences because of biological differences. He was also booted out as the President of Harvard University over a very public spat with Dr West, but continued to write for several publications.
Bari Weiss: Weiss was the opinion editor at The New York Times until she resigned in 2020 over the publication of Sen. Tom Cotton's controversial op-ed. She claimed she was bullied for her views and accused the Times of "being against freedom of speech".
Steven Pinker: The Canadian-American psychologist was asked to leave the Linguistic Society of America for his controversial tweets on race in the past. In the summer of 2020, more than 550 academics signed a letter to the society to boot Pinker out from the list of "distinguished fellows".
Sohrab Ahmari: The Iranian-American columnist was 'canceled' in 2019 over his public spat with David French. The two conservatives traded barbs on how to approach cultural and political debate, while also publicly promoting Roman Catholicism.
David Mamet: The Pulitzer Prize winner was faced constant backlash for his open support for Donald Trump and pro-Israel stance. He also once called the NFL national anthem protests "absolutely f-----g despicable," and in 2013 wrote an op-ed for Newsweek arguing against gun control laws.
Caitlin Flanagan: The social critic is often labeled "anti-feminist" for her writing, with some publicly calling her work "mean-girl nastiness" and "a snobbish hypocrite". The criticism stems from the two books she published, which have also led to her being nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
Some other big names to join the university include Tyler Cowen, Stacy Hock, Lex Fridman, and Niall Ferguson. Together, the individuals promise UATX will be "fiercely independent—financially, intellectually, and politically." Kanelos alludes to these principals numerous times in his article, also adding, "Our rigorous curriculum will be the first designed in partnership not only with great teachers but also society’s great doers—founders of daring ventures, dissidents who have stood up to authoritarianism, pioneers in tech, and the leading lights in engineering and the natural sciences. "