Several years ago, to attract more students, Jean Muteba Rahier spiced up the name of his introduction to the anthropology of religion course. He called it Myth, Ritual and Mysticism.
Now Dr. Rahier, a professor at Florida International University in Miami, believes the name was perhaps too provocative for higher education in the Sunshine State.
Dr. Rahier’s class, which was flagged as having “unproven, speculative or exploratory content,” was one of nearly two dozen courses university trustees voted in September to remove from a core set of classes that students must choose from to graduate.
The slashing of core classes across the state, which has often been based on course titles and descriptions, is meant to comply with a state law passed last year that curbed “identity politics” in the curriculum. The law also bars classes from the core that “distort significant historical events” or that include theories that “systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States.”
Florida has become a testing ground for a raft of conservative policies meant to limit or expunge what Republicans describe as “woke” indoctrination in the state’s schools and colleges. Faculty and student critics have said this latest effort infringes on university autonomy and could reduce students’ exposure to courses they believe are necessary for a well-rounded education. Academic freedom advocates worry it marks a new, more organized approach.
Rather than trying to regulate what a professor can and cannot say — a legally questionable tactic — the new strategy is taking aim at entire courses.
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