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The Latest Breaking News from Hamline

Report finds Hamline University violated professor’s academic freedom in Islamic art controversy

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Hamline University’s response to a Muslim student’s art class complaint last fall violated the professor’s academic freedom, according to a new report by the American Association of University Professors.

Pioneer Press

‘I can’t afford groceries’: why one-third of US college students don’t have enough to eat

There are now around 800 food pantries on US college campuses, and demand is growing as pandemic-era resources end

The Guardian - US

Minnesota college head to retire after Islamic art dispute

The president of a private Minnesota university says she's retiring next year

The Independent UK

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When liberal institutions screw up

A small college panicked and fired a professor — but the real lessons aren't the ones the right wants to teach

Salon

Novelist, academic and tattoo artist Samuel Steward's plight shows that 'cancel culture' was alive and well in the 1930s

In January 2023, Hamline University opted not to renew the contract of an art professor who showed a 14th-century depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in class. Hamline labeled the incident “Islamophobic” and released a statement, co-signed by the university’s president, saying that respect for “Muslim students … should have superseded…

The Conversation

DEI Inc. v. Academic Freedom

Amna Khalid and Jeffrey Aaron Snyder argue that we should not kid ourselves about the threat university DEI bureaucracies pose to academic freedom, but is there a better way?

Reason

Debates over sacred images in the Byzantine Empire show why it's hard to appease any side

An adjunct lecturer at Hamline University recently lost her job for showing an image of Prophet Muhammad in an art history class, which some students and administrators considered to be Islamophobic. The university later retracted the accusation of Islamophobia and said in a statement, “It was never our intent to…

The Conversation

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Robin Abcarian: Two universities that tried to squelch academic freedom have backtracked. Here's hoping that's a trend

I thought my mind was playing tricks on me when I first read that Kenneth Roth, who led Human Rights Watch for three decades, had been disinvited to a fellowship at Harvard Kennedy School's Carr Center for Human Rights.

Los Angeles Times

Faculty calls on embattled Minnesota college head to resign

The faculty at a Minnesota college is calling for its president to resign for her handling of a Muslim student's objection to a depiction of the Prophet Muhammad being shown in an ancient art course

The Independent UK

Hamline Faculty Vote 71-12 to Ask University President to Step Down Over Muhammad Painting Firing Controversy

[UPDATE: Full faculty statement added.]

Reason

She Lost Her Job For Showing a Painting of Muhammad in Class. Now, She's Suing.

"Hamline subjected López Prater to the foregoing adverse actions because . . . she did not conform her conduct to the specific beliefs of a Muslim sect," the lawsuit states.

Reason

Art professor sues after firing over Prophet Muhammad images

An adjunct art professor is suing the Minnesota university that dismissed her for including depictions of the Prophet Muhammad in a global art course

The Independent UK

Instructor who showed Prophet Muhammad images sues Hamline University; school officials say calling it Islamophobic was flawed

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A former art instructor who showed images of the Prophet Muhammad in class has sued Hamline University, saying administrators defamed her and reneged on an offer to teach in the spring semester.

Tribune News Service

Hamline Adjunct Fired for Showing Muhammad Images Sues + Hamline Statement Seems to Backtrack

The Pioneer Press (Josh Verges) reports [UPDATE: see also the Complaint]: The adjunct professor accused of Islamophobia for showing artwork in class that depicted the Prophet Muhammad filed a lawsuit against Hamline University on Tuesday as Hamline's president conceded the school mishandled the controversy. Professor Erika Lopez Prater is suing…

Reason

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Reason

Jacob Mchangama: "Privileging Blasphemy Norms Over Open Inquiry Plays Into the Hands of Religious Fundamentalists"

A broader perspective on the Hamline controversy.

The Independent UK

Hamline University under fire for art professor's dismissal

A Minnesota university’s dismissal of a professor for including depictions of the Prophet Muhammad in a global art course has put the small, private school at the center of a debate over how to include controversial material in college courses while respecting students’ personal relationship to the material

Los Angeles Times

Robin Abcarian: Firing an art history professor for showing students an image of the Prophet Muhammad is out of line

The art history instructor was diligent, empathetic and sensitive. She gave plenty of warning, including in her class syllabus, letting her students know ahead of time that she planned to show them ancient depictions of the Prophet Muhammad as part of her global art history course at Hamline University, a…

Tribune News Service

Hamline University at center of academic freedom debate over Islamic artwork shown in class

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The centuries-old artworks appeared on Hamline University students' computer screens during an art history class early one October morning.

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Reason

More on Hamline

Over at The Dispatch, I have a new piece on Hamline University and its academic freedom struggles. Here's a taste: In an extremely competitive field, Hamline University is making a bold bid to be the new standard-bearer for universities willing to cast aside principles of academic freedom and freedom of…

Reason

A College Fired a Professor for Showing a Painting of Muhammad. Now, It Could Lose Its Accreditation.

"If Hamline won't listen to free speech advocates or faculty across the country, they'll have to listen to their accreditor," said FIRE attorney Alex Morey, who filed the complaint.

Reason

Hamline President Keeps Digging

In email to campus Hamline University president reemphasizes that academic freedom does not exist there

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