Wednesday, August 19, 2009

What's Good about Yale?

It's a very unpleasant feeling when you have to be constantly ashamed of your own school. As I have mentioned before, I didn't even attend my doctoral graduation because I felt no emotional attachment to the school or the diploma it gave me. I hope Yale changes, of course, and then I will be able to feel proud of having gone there. It seems, however, that is not going to happen for a while. Recent news from Yale are very discouraging.

Yale University Press has deemed it necessary to censor a scholarly volume analyzing the cartoons that appeared in a Danish newspaper and sparkled a huge controversy: "After consulting what it says were two dozen experts, the publishing house decided that not only would the offending cartoons not appear in the book, but all renditions of Mohammad -- including a classic sketch by the 19th-century artist Gustave Dore -- would be banned." It's hard to imagine the book titled The Cartoons That Shook the World without the actual cartoons. What next, a book on Cervantes without a single quote? A book on Goya with no reproductions of his paintings? The whole purpose that the book's author, Prof. Jytte Klausen of Brandeis University, was attempting to achieve with her analysis is undermined. And for what? An unfounded fear that somebody, somewhere might get upset? Controversy? But isn't the whole point of publishing research to provoke debate?

Yale UP based its cowardly and idiotic decision on the opinions of some unidentified experts whose names it made every effort to conceal not only from the public but also from the author herself: "Adding insult to injury, the Yale Press's director, John Donatich, only allowed Klausen to read a summary of the experts' recommendations if she signed a gag order that barred her from discussing them." The only reason for this secrecy must be that the "experts" in question realize how unreasonable and undemocratic their "expert opinions" are. What's scary, though, is that a university press should limit its own authors out of a deference to a bunch of insane religious fanatics. Research cannot exist without the freedom of thought and the freedom of expression. Academics need to be able to conduct their work and publish their findings without the limitations of some badly digested idea of political correctness.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

You'd expect Yale to have nothing to fear. With their reputation they should be able to publish any research, even the kind that might be deemed controversial.

Clarissa said...

You have a very rosy picture of Yale. :-)

Anonymous said...

So... What exactly is good about Yale? I need to know. Seriously. (!)

Do you know the names of the people on Yale UP editorial board? Maybe these people don't like to make waves. (!)

Ol.

Clarissa said...

I have no idea, my friend. I hope you'd have some suggestions.

The best thing I can think of is Sullivan's. Do you remember our drunken Fridays there? Good times...

Anonymous said...

Sullivan's = New Haven, not Yale!
Oh... I miss that.
Ol.

Clarissa said...

That's the closest I could get to naming a good thing. If any one has any suggestions, I welcome them.

Anonymous said...

I have been thinking all weekend and I could hardly come up with something good about this place. Everything that I like about this place is New Haven-related. And I kept thinking about how Yale invested in private prisons...

I guess I like the new photocopy machine they put at CCL. You can scan books and email them. If you need something let me know.

Ol.

Clarissa said...

Well, at least we stopped them from investing in prisons.

And I managed to come up with one good thing about Yale: one day we all are or will be able to leave it. And nothing will be able to scare us after that. When I was snowed in in Detroit and had to sit in a freezing bus station on a freezing metal chair, I swear to God that I kept thinking: "I survived Yale, so don't tell me I can't deal with this." :-)