Addressing the challenges of cancel culture within institutions: Opinion

A trio of recent articles address the challenges with “cancel culture” in postsecondary institutions and in legislation and its impacts on learning. An opinion piece by university student Emma Camp published in the New York Times discusses the personal challenges and losses that students experience when they feel attacked or silenced after sharing their points of view. Two articles from Inside Higher Ed responded to Camp’s article and discussed how universities should respond to the threats of cancel culture. Patricia McGuire argues that Camp’s experiences are not true cancel culture, but that in the United States, legislations that limit free speech and academic freedom are being developed and implemented. McGuire recommends that larger institutions push back against these “violations of American values of free speech and free thought.” Jim Ryan and Ian Baucom argue that cancel culture and self-censorship cannot be fixed by appeals to free speech and recommend that institutions teach students to be generous when interacting with others who hold differing beliefs. Inside Higher Ed (Ryan and Baucom)| Inside Higher Ed (McGuire)| New York Times (Student Essay) Note: Archived stories may contain dead links or be missing source links.

Inside Higher Ed (Ryan and Baucom) | Inside Higher Ed (Ryan and Baucom) | Inside Higher Ed (Ryan and Baucom)