We, the undersigned, are writing to express our deep concern and outrage over both the recent demand for the retraction of Rebecca Tuvel’s article, “In Defense of Transracialism,” which was published in Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy on March 29th, and Hypatia’s temporarily acquiescing to this demand by removing the article in its online form for a period of time.
The open letter to Hypatia (published on April 30), which garnered over 800 signatures of academics from universities within the US and elsewhere, in addition to a handful of writers, was a mean-spirited mischaracterization of a scholar’s work that was conspicuously lacking in any attempt to engage with the primary argument offered therein. Instead, the letter demanded a retraction based on spurious and, in some instances, demonstrably wrong assertions regarding the content of the work. We agree with Jessie Singal’s overall assessment in his article, “This Is What a Modern Day Witch Hunt Looks Like,” and we share his suspicion that despite calling for its retraction, many of the signatories had not read Tuvel’s article before adding their names to the letter. In fact, one must wonder if some of the signatories had even read the open letter to Hypatia given the petition’s absolute defiance to critical inquiry and academic deliberation.
Most of the signatories to the Hypatia letter enjoy both the intellectual and practical benefits of free and open debate and discussion within their institutions. A vast majority of the signatories also directly benefit from the mechanisms of fairness of review processes within publishing in order for their ideas and words to see the light of day. This letter is then addressed to the heads of the universities and publishing houses of those who signed the Hypatia letter, which not only set out to have an article disappeared, but contributed to a cultural climate in which debate is stifled and individuals are demonized. These signatories participated in a purposeful, modern-era witch hunt whereby some of the most privileged in academia and publishing created a groundswell of opprobrium for a junior scholar — one that can be reasonably expected to have serious ramifications for her career and reputation.
Many of us have watched in astonishment and horror over the last few years as identity politics has been used as a cudgel to disappear the material condition and facticity of the world, be it social or scientific. Instead of nurturing dialogue with one’s interlocutor, a climate of taking irrational, unscientific, and reactionary dogma has been championed by the academy and the media. Anyone who has dared to question, critique, or even — as in the case of Tuvel — subject it to rigorous logical scrutiny in an effort to expand its application, has been met with shaming at best and abuse at worst. This alarming call for the silencing of an academic who made a good faith argument has left little room for doubt that the proponents of this dogma will brook no questioning of it. We believe that the signatories to the Hypatia letter have engaged in a call for de facto censorship and deep intellectual dishonesty to intimidate not just Tuvel, but anyone else who might consider offering a contrary opinion or perspective.
The signatories sent a clear message: no inquiry into the function and precepts of the prevailing philosophy of gender will be tolerated. We unequivocally reject this message and affirm our right to question, critique, and rebut any and all philosophies or viewpoints, regardless of how much academic support they may have. We recognize the Hypatia letter as an egregious example of a growing authoritarian trend when it comes to engaging certain topics. We refuse to bend to it. We condemn the attempts of academics and others to silence and erase from public view an opinion solely because it does not fall within the discursive parameters that they have taken it upon themselves to set. We assert that the academics who signed on to this letter betrayed their fundamental duty as scholars to encourage — even demand — rigorous examination and robust discussion of ideas.
It is supremely ironic that Tuvel’s acceptance and application of many of the core arguments used to buttress one of the prevailing views of a certain type of identity, when applied to another social domain has, conversely, sparked such outrage. It is difficult for us to draw any conclusion other than that Tuvel — however inadvertently — has shown the hollowness of such ideas and that those who expound them can proffer no credible defense. The letter and the demand for retraction show nothing as much as a thorough inability to logically rebut Tuvel’s argument.
And there is a glaring paradox at the centre of this affair — that one of the better known signatories has previously written the following:
“This attempt to purify the sphere of public discourse by institutionalizing the norms that establish what ought properly to be included there operates as a preemptive censor. Such efforts not only labour under a fear of contamination, but they are also compelled to restage in the spectacles of public denunciations they perform the very utterances they seek to banish from public life.”
We find it difficult to fathom how this individual can reconcile these sentiments with a letter that calls for the silencing of a scholar without even a cursory attempt at counter-argument. We again note the irony. This professor and her co-signers have advanced an onslaught of harassment towards an individual whose ideas are merely an application of their own theories and belief-systems. This amounts to an abuse of power on the part of influential individuals ensconced in powerful institutions. In endorsing this call for the silencing of a good faith and rigorous effort on the part of a scholar, they have shown themselves to be inadequate models of scholarly integrity and intellectual honesty.
We are not all scholars or academics. Our political affiliations and outlooks vary in numerous ways. We are professionals and laypeople; workers and readers; some of us are activists and some are not. Many of us do not agree with the premise of Tuvel’s article in fact, but we wholeheartedly support open debate and the freedom of intellectual exchange through the medium of publishing. We believe that we must confront three distinct issues:
1) The growing academic trend, particularly evident when it comes to gender, to stifle debate and shame, harass, and defame anyone who does not mindlessly parrot the prevailing orthodoxy;
2) The logical and political shortcomings inherent in much of the currently popular theory concerning gender;
3) The elision of feminist politics and the troubling sidelining of sex over gender “feelings,” ultimately contributing to institutional sexism whereby only those who toe the genderist ideology are rewarded, while all mention of material reality of females is pushed aside in both academic and editorial structures (i.e. the disappearance of women’s studies departments over the past two decades in favour of gender studies programs and the conterminous decrease of publications related to the material and experiential reality of females and sex-based oppression).
We are a diverse group of people who understand that ideas matter and that intellectual trends impact the society at large. They affect law, media, medicine, culture, language, and politics; they affect how we are educated and how our workplaces function; and, as this episode has made abundantly clear, they can even determine who is allowed to express an opinion and who isn’t. Because of this, vigorous and open debate and discussion is essential. We see in the Hypatia letter a clear attempt to incite fear in anyone who dares to not show unswerving deference to certain propositions and we condemn it in the most unequivocal terms. Unlike “A Majority of the Hypatia‘s Board of Associated Editors,” whose apology showed a craven eagerness to abandon basic principles of free speech and editorial integrity, we stand strong in our commitment to open discussion and assert our absolute right to question ideas and to shape alternate views.
We demand that:
1) The provosts and other chief administrators and editors who serve at the institutions with which the signatories are affiliated publicly disavow the call for silencing made in the letter and affirm their support for free dialogue and debate and begin to consider programs and initiatives to address the alarming authoritarian trend on the part of certain academics evidenced clearly in the Hypatia letter.
2) Hypatia republish Tuvel’s original article in its original full form with an apology to the author and their readers.
3) The universities and publishers named herein engage in addressing the growing problem of intellectual harassment within their walls by opening up forums and publications which address the growing problem of silencing and no-platforming, with the usual suspects being females who question or, as in the case of Tuvel, employ gender identity within a perfectly reasonable academic exercise.
To view signatories and to add your name to this letter, please visit ipetitions.com.
This open letter will be sent to the following provosts and other chief administrators and editors who serve at the institutions with which the signatories to the Hypatia letter are affiliated:
- Hypatia Editorial Board
- Elizabeth Abrams, University of California, Santa Cruz
- Augustine O. Agho, Old Dominion University
- Peter-André Alt, Freie Universität Berlin
- Valerie Amos, SOAS University of London
- Sona K. Andrews, Portland State University
- Terri Anne Camesano, Bruce Bursten, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- Parvis Ansari, Westfield State University
- Paul Arcario, LaGuardia Community College (CUNY)
- Michael Arthur, University of London
- Attila Askar, Koç University, Istanbul
- Matthew R. Auer, Bates College
- Timothy R. Austin, Duquesne University
- Bert C. Bach, East Tennessee State University
- Benoit-Antoine Bacon, Queen’s University
- Gail F. Baker, University of San Diego
- Turina Bakken, Madison College
- Gerald Baldasty, University of Washington
- Susan Baldridge, Middlebury College
- Deborah Baldwin, University of Arkansas Little Rock
- Alberto Edgardo Barbieri, Universidad de Buenos Aires
- Jean Bartels, Georgia Southern University
- Craig Barton, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Scott A. Bass, American University
- Patricia E. Beeson, University of Pittsburgh
- Neeli Bendapudi, University of Kansas
- Justin Bengry, Founder and Managing Editor, Notches
- James Bennighof, Baylor University
- Sheri Berger, Pierce College
- Michael Bernstein, Stony Brook University
- Neil Besner, University of Winnipeg
- Hester Bijl, Leiden University Center for the Arts in Society
- Dale B. Billingsley, University of Louisville
- Christopher Bishop, Microsoft Research New England
- Julia Black, London School of Economics
- Fabienne Blaise, Lille University
- M. Brian Blake, Drexel University
- David Bogen, Maryland Institute College of Art
- David Bolton, City University of London
- Judy Bonner, Mississippi State University
- Leszek Borysiewicz, University of Cambridge
- Gene Bourgeois, Texas State University
- Jeanne F. Brady, Saint Joseph’s University
- Cheryl Brandsen, Calvin College
- Guy Breton, Université de Montréal
- Nancy Brickhouse, St. Louis University
- Ross Brown, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama London
- Marilyn Buck, Ball State University
- Rosemarie Buikema, Bluestockings Magazine
- Edward Burger, Southwestern University
- Tom Burish, University of Notre Dame
- David Burrows, Lawrence University
- Ken Burtis, University of California, Davis
- Edward Byrne, King’s College London
- Mike Calford, University of Tasmania
- Phyllis Callahan, Miami University
- H.E.A. (Eddy) Campbell, University of New Brunswick
- Brent Carbajal, Western Washington University
- Paula J. Carlson, Luther College
- Kevin R. Carman, University of Nevada, Reno
- Dennis Carroll, High Point University
- Ben Leeds Carson, University of California, Santa Cruz
- Joy Carter, University of Winchester
- Henrik Caspar, Wegener, University of Copenhagen
- John Cater, Edge Hill University
- Wes Chapin, University of Wisconsin River Falls
- Diane Z. Chase, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- Joe Chicharo, University of Wollongong
- Carol T. Christ, University of California, Berkeley
- Alan Christy, University of California, Santa Cruz
- John Henry Coatsworth, Columbia University
- Denise Cobb, Southern Illinois University—Edwardsville
- Jim Coleman, University of Arkansas
- Jeanne Colleran, John Carroll University
- Francis S. Collins, National Institutes of Health
- Marie-Christine Collomb, Université Paris-Sorbonne
- Scott Coltrane, University of Oregon
- Rick Commons, Harvard-Westlake School
- Andrew C. Comrie, University of Arizona
- Marc Conner, Washington and Lee University
- Joy Connolly, CUNY Graduate Center
- Jay Coogan, Minneapolis College of Art & Design
- Kim Coplin, Denison University
- Paul N. Courant, University of Michigan
- Michael Crafton, University of West Georgia
- Ruth Crilly, Western Sydney University
- Andrew Crouch, University of the Witwatersrand
- Susan J. Curry, University of Iowa
- Ann Davies, Beloit College
- Eric Davis, University of the Fraser Valley
- Gayle R. Davis, Grand Valley State University
- Janice Deakin, University of Western Ontario
- James W. Dean, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Donald H. DeHayes, University of Rhode Island
- Jane Den Hollander, Deakin University
- Marten L. denBoer, DePaul University
- Carolyn Dever, Dartmouth College
- Steven Dew, University of Alberta
- John Dewar, La Trobe University
- Todd A. Diacon, Kent State University
- Jeannine Diddle Uzzi, University of Southern Maine
- Daniel Diermeier, University of Chicago
- Robbert Dijkgraaf, Loyola Marymount University/Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
- Persis S. Drell, Stanford University
- Thomas Dunk, Brock University
- Dana Dunn, University of North Carolina Greensboro
- Debasish (Deba) Dutta, Purdue University
- Donald R. Eastman, Eckerd College
- Executive Editor, Sarah Broadie, The Philosophical Quarterly, Independent Scholar
- Katherine Elizabeth Fleming, New York University
- Susan Elrod, University of Wisconsin at Whitewater
- Kenneth L. Ender, Harper College
- Christine Ennew, University of Warwick
- Chukuka S. Enwemeka, San Diego State University
- Alexander Enyedi, Humboldt State University
- JoAnne A. Epps, Temple University
- Dean Eric Eliason, Concordia College, Moorhead
- Dorothy Escribano, College of New Rochelle, NY
- Chris Evans, Ryerson University
- Knut Fægri, University of Oslo
- Gervan Fearon, Brandon University, Canada
- Katherine Fell, University of Findlay
- Joel Ferguson, University of California, Santa Cruz
- Edward Feser, Oregon State University
- Des Fitzgerald, University of Limerick
- William L. Fox, St. Lawrence University
- DonnaJean A. Fredeen, Rider University
- Stephen Freedman, Fordham University
- Lisa Freeman, Northern Illinois University
- Annie Furuyama, Utrecht University
- Ilshat Gafurov, Kazan University
- Michael Galyean, Texas Tech University
- Alan M. Garber, Harvard University
- Laurel Garrick-Duhaney, SUNY New Paltz
- Stephen Gerlach, Flinders University
- Dean R. Gerstein, Claremont Graduate University, UC San Diego
- Joseph Glover, University of Florida
- Jeffrey Goldberg, Mount Royal University
- Noreen Golfman, Memorial University of Newfoundland
- David Graham, University of Ottawa
- Domenico Grasso, University of Delaware
- O. Finley Graves, University of North Texas
- David Greenaway, University of Nottingham
- Robert Groves, Georgetown University
- Gail Hackett, Virginia Commonwealth University
- Jeremy Haefner, RIT
- Andrew (Andy) Hale Feinstein, San Jose State University
- Michael Halleran, The College of William & Mary
- Karen Hanson, University of Minnesota
- Cindy Harcum, Baltimore City College
- W. Ken Harmon, Kennesaw State University
- Kathleen Harring, Muhlenberg College
- Constance Harsh, Colgate University
- Lyn Hejinian and Travis Ortiz, Atelos
- Donald E. Heller, University of San Francisco
- Joseph Hellige, Loyola Marymount University
- Elizabeth Hendrey, CUNY Queens
- Gregory D. Hess, Wabash College
- Matthew S. Holland, Utah Valley University
- Steve Hollenhorst, Huxley College of the Environment
- Editors, Homofactus
- Debra Humphris, University of Brighton
- Jennie Hunter-Cevera, Mount Saint Mary’s University Los Angeles
- Jacqueline E. Huntoon, Michigan Technological University
- Edward Inch, California State University, East Bay
- Beth Ingram, North Dakota State University
- Matt Inman, Three Rivers Press & Penguin Random House
- Farrukh Iqbal, Institute of Business Administration (Pakistan)
- Don Jackson, Hastings College
- Dennis C. Jacobs, Santa Clara University
- Ian Jacobs, University of New South Wales
- Joyce Jacobsen, Wesleyan University
- Farnam Jahanian, Carnegie Mellon University
- Brian Jersky, California State University, Long Beach
- Michael D. Johnson, Babson College
- Laurel Jones, Cabrillo College
- Nicholas P. Jones, Penn State University
- Laura Joseph, Farmingdale State College, SUNY
- Ellen Junn, California State University, Stanislaus
- Thomas C. Katsouleas, University of Virginia
- Peter Keller, Simon Fraser University
- Peggy D. Kennedy, Minnesota State Community and Technical College
- Rogan Kersh, Wake Forest University School of Divinity
- Joe Klesner, Kenyon College
- Lori G. Kletzer, Colby College
- Sally Kornbluth, Duke University
- Michael Kotlikoff, Cornell University
- Douglas Kristensen, University of Nebraska Kearney
- Darrell P. Kruger, Appalachian State University
- Gregg Kvistad, University of Denver
- Peter Landgren, University of Cincinnati
- Gina Langhout, University of California, Santa Cruz
- Winston E. Langley, University of Massachusetts Boston
- Cynthia K. Larive, University of California, Riverside
- David Lassner, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
- David Latchman, Birkbeck College, University of London
- Kelly Lauer, Harvey Mudd College
- Enrique J. Lavernia, University of California, Irvine
- Doreen Lawrence, De Montfort University
- Thomas J. LeBlanc, University of Miami
- David S. Lee, Princeton University
- Herbie Lee, University of California, Santa Cruz
- Yi Li, California State University, Northridge
- Kung-Yee Liang, National Yang-Ming University
- Michael Licari, Indiana State University
- Daniel I. Linzer, Northwestern University
- Daniel J. Linzer, Bernardo, Washington State University
- Ronnie Lipschutz, University of California, Santa Cruz
- Richard M. Locke, Brown University
- Joan F. Lorden, University of North Carolina Charlotte
- Patrick Loughrey, Goldsmiths, University of London
- Dan Lowenstein, University of California, San Francisco
- Carol Macdonald, Senior Commissioning Editor, Edinburgh University Press
- Alfred MacKay, Oberlin College
- Patrick G. Maggitti, Villanova University
- Lynn Mahoney, California State University, Los Angeles
- Forrest Maltzman, George Washington University
- Christopher P. Manfredi, McGill University
- Sarah Mangelsdorf, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Robert A. Mangione, St. John’s University
- David Marshall, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Jennifer Martin, Texas Woman’s University
- April Mason, Kansas State University
- John Matachek, Hamline University
- Liviu Matei, Central European University
- Brian R. McGee, College of Charleston
- Maurie McInnis, University of Texas at Austin
- Tiffany McKillip Franks, Averett University
- Shari McMahan, California State University, San Bernardino
- Caroline McMillen, University of Newcastle
- Bruce A. McPheron, Ohio State University
- Nina Mikhalevsky, University of Mary Washington
- Nina Mikhalevsky, University of Maryland
- Rick Miranda, Colorado State University
- Steven Mithen, University of Reading
- Jane Monnig Atkinson, Clark College
- Russell L. Moore, University of Colorado Boulder
- Jean Morrison, Boston University
- Jan M. Murphy, Illinois State University
- Anton Muscatelli, University of Glasgow
- Daniel J. Myers, Marquette University
- Roderick Nairn, University of Colorado Denver
- Leanne Neilson, California Lutheran University
- James A. Newell, Rowan University
- Katherine S. Newman, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Laurie Nichols, University of Wyoming
- Donald G. Nieman, Binghamton University
- Philip Nolan, Maynooth University
- Timothy O’Shea, University of Sussex / Edinburgh College of Art
- Brennan O’Donnell, Manhattan College
- Patrick O’Shea, University College Cork
- Graham Oberem, California State University, San Marcos
- Jeff Ollerhead, Mount Allison University
- Chinyere Oparah, Mills College
- Ian Orchard, University of Waterloo
- Guy Orpen, University of Bristol
- Travis Ortiz, Atelos
- David W. Oxtoby, Pomona College
- Michael Palis, Rutgers University
- Risa Palm, Georgia State University
- Andrew Parfitt, University of Technology Sydney
- Marc Parlange, Monash University
- Naren Patel, University of Dundee
- Franco Pavoncello, John Cabot University
- Sandra J. Peart, University of Richmond
- Gary W Perry, Florida Atlantic University
- Debra Peters, Ecosphere
- Lisa Philipps, York University
- Clarenda Phillips, Notre Dame of Maryland University
- June Pierce Youatt, Michigan State University
- Susan Poser, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Vincent Price, University of Pennsylvania
- Robert Proulx, Université du Québec à Montréal
- Mark Prus, CUNY Graduate Center and City College of New York
- Anil K. Puri, California State University, Fullerton
- Michael Quick, University of Southern California
- David Quigley, Boston College
- Donald R. Strong, Ecology
- J. Ralph Byington, Coastal Carolina University
- Malcolm Reed, Brighton and Sussex Medical School
- Cheryl Regehr, University of Toronto
- Pascal Reghem, University of Le Havre
- Peter Ricketts, Carleton University
- Lauren Robel, Indiana University Bloomington
- Sofia Robledo, Bluestockings Magazine
- Rodney K. Rogers, Bowling Green State University
- David Roland Finley, Delta College
- Victoria Roman-Lagunas, Northeastern Illinois University
- David V. Rosowsky, University of Vermont
- Eva Rueschmann, Hampshire College
- Gary Sandefur, Oklahoma State University
- Warren G. Sandmann, William Paterson University
- Martin Schmidt, MIT
- Mark Searle, Arizona State University
- Megan Segoshi, Editor in Chief, Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education
- William Serrata, El Paso Community College
- Margaret Sheil, University of Melbourne
- Sandy Shugart, Valencia College
- Gillian Siddall, OCAD University
- John Smarrelli Jr., Christian Brothers University
- Robert T. Smith, Armstrong State University
- Joseph M. Sopcich, Johnson County Community College
- Steven Spier, Kingston University, London
- Tom Stephenson, Swarthmore College
- Garnett S. Stokes, University of Missouri
- Donald Straney, University of Hawai’i at Hilo
- Jennifer Summit, San Francisco State University
- Nancy Targett, University of New Hampshire
- Jacqueline Taylor, The College of New Jersey
- Helen Teasdale, University of Sheffield
- Jeremy Teitelbaum, University of Connecticut
- Saul Tendler, University of York
- Jan Thomas, Massey University
- Stephen E. Thorsett and Carol S. Long, Willamette University
- Adam Tickell, University of Sussex
- Lara Tiedens, Scripps College
- Brad Toben, Baylor Law School
- Tim Tracy, University of Kentucky
- Elizabeth Treasure, Aberystwyth University
- Maurizio Trevisan, CUNY Graduate Center and City College of New York
- Walter Tribley, Monterey Peninsula College
- Titilayo Ufomata, Hobart & William Smith Colleges
- Kalervo Väänänen, University of Turku
- Albert Van Jaarsveld, University of KwaZulu Natal
- Katharine Viner, Editor of The Guardian, GATE
- Isabella Vitti, Editor, Routledge
- Torbjörn Von Schantz, Lund University
- Robbyn Wacker, University of Northern Colorado
- Susan Walsh, Southern Oregon University
- Kent Waltersson, Linköping University
- Ching-Hua Wang, California State University, Sacramento
- David Wantz, University of Indianapolis
- Karan L. Watson, Texas A&M University
- Michael Weber, Universität Ulm, Baden-Württemberg
- Karen Weddle-West, University of Memphis
- Susan Wente, Vanderbilt University
- Jon Western, Mount Holyoke College
- Michele G. Wheatly, Syracuse University
- Darrell P. Wheeler, University at Albany SUNY
- Kevin Whitaker, University of Alabama
- Craig White, University of New Mexico
- A. Dale Whittaker, University of Central Florida
- Michael R. Wick, St. Mary’s College of Maryland
- Jonathan Wickert, Iowa State University
- Ralph Wilcox, University of South Florida
- Stephen C. Wilhite, Widener University
- John P. Wilkin, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
- David S. Wilkinson, McMaster University
- Ken Wissoker, Editorial Director, Duke University Press
- Marjorie Wonham, Quest University Canada
- S. David Wu, George Mason University
- Alice Yang, University of California, Santa Cruz
- Charlotte Yates, University of Guelph
- Mary Jo Zembar, Wittenberg University
- Stuart Zola, Emory University
- John Zomchick, University of Tennessee
- Charles F. Zukoski, SUNY at Buffalo