By Jamie J. Frevele
A right-wing watchdog Web site has flagged a University professor because of her left-wing political opinions.
Carolyn Eisenberg, a professor of history, is listed among several others who have been labeled by conservative activist David Horowitz as members of the “political left” on his site, DiscoverTheNetwork.com. Reasons for her appearance, as listed in a profile of her on the site, include complaints by students of anti-Americanism, membership in the Socialist Party and the intentional “[blurring]…between pedagogy and political activism.”
Most of the evidence stacked against Eisenberg comes from remarks made at panel discussions for left-wing organizations, including Historians Against War. DTN claims that as “a professor of foreign policy, Eisenberg is in a position to greatly influence her students’ assessments of America’s international engagements,” but at the same time “holds in contempt virtually all American foreign policy decisions.” Eisenberg’s activities outside the classroom, such as her participation in the University’s 2004 anti-war “Day of Inquiry”, are also cited as reasons for her inclusion on the list.
“David Horowitz is neither a serious academic nor a genuine conservative,” said Eisenberg. “He takes quotations out of context and misrepresents people’s views in order to gain attention for himself.”
Eisenberg said she was well aware she was featured on the site, but everything on it is distorted. Since David Horowitz visited the University in an event sponsored by the College Republicans last year, Eisenberg said several students took her classes to cause problems and “make discussion impossible.”
The list on which Eisenberg appears is extensive and broad, and it includes celebrity liberals, Democrats in and out of Congress, radical Muslims and some questionable names such as the anti-homosexual funeral-protester Fred Phelps. Horowitz himself is a former civil rights activist-turned-conservative, and he compiled this list in response to the many left-wing watchdog sites such as MediaMatters.org.
The student complaints that appear on DTN are taken from RateMyProfessor.com, however, the negative comments cited on DTN are just about all of the negative comments found on the site; most of the complaints are about the manner of teaching and the reading requirements. One remark, used on DTN, says, “At least I’m allowed to express my views in class because I’m from the opposite side of the political spectrum.”
Another comment mentioning Eisenberg’s liberal views says, “Great professor, interesting class…very left, just wants you to see things in a different way and accomplishes that.” Another: “Will not bite the heads off [conservatives]!”
The University’s policy of academic freedom allows professors to express themselves freely, as long as the treatment of students (namely, their grades) is unbiased and fair. From the comments left by past students of Eisenberg, this does not appear to be the case, with one comment reading, “Keep any kind of conservative views to yourself and you’ll do great.”
Dr. Mark Landis, a professor and chair of the Political Science Department, confirms that Eisenberg’s teaching methods have been mentioned to him, but that he would not classify them as “complaints.”
“The students who have mentioned it to me have told me that they simply take those biases into account in assessing what she says about her subject matter,” said Landis.
As for professors openly expressing their political opinions in the classroom, Richard Himelfarb, an associate professor of political science, said he believes that as long as the overall discussion is presented in a balanced and equal way, professors should be free to express themselves. “I don’t think it’s objectionable as long as the readings are fair and balanced, as long as you give both sides, as long as you can be clear that you’re not there to indoctrinate anyone.”
Dr. Himelfarb also questioned the veracity of claims that professors can politically influence students. There have been studies that find that even “when professors try to indoctrinate their students, it doesn’t work because the students mostly discount what their professors say about politics.”
Horowitz has also recently begun pushing an Academic Bill of Rights, which is intended to protect students from professors who may indoctrinate them with their own political ideals. In a Washington Post article by Princeton senior Asheesh Kapur Siddique, the proposal “would substitute political correctness for the free exchange of ideas by preventing faculty and students from discussing fresh or controversial ideas in class.”
According to Siddique, the Academic Bill of Rights would have a chilling effect on the rights of professors. “The bill’s vague language invites any student with an agenda to use its provisions to politicize syllabi and restrict campus speech.”
Horowitz did not respond to a request for an interview.