University of Austin

[Manderleyagain]

Some people in America are trying to launch a new university. It will have a physical campus in Austin Texas.

Kathleen Stock is listed as an academic advisor. Their advisory board is very impressive.

The many gc feminists who post here who work in academia might be interested in this development.

They have published a blog on Bari Weiss Web site.
bariweiss.substack.com/p/f0ee620b-e8f7-43f0-a9b9-0caff5d76d55

It is a response to the censorious and group think prone nature of American Unis.

"Universities are the places where society does its thinking, where the habits and mores of our citizens are shaped. If these institutions are not open and pluralistic, if they chill speech and ostracize those with unpopular viewpoints, if they lead scholars to avoid entire topics out of fear, if they prioritize emotional comfort over the often-uncomfortable pursuit of truth, who will be left to model the discourse necessary to sustain liberty in a self-governing society?"

Their Web site.
www.uaustin.org/our-principles

My instinct is its too difficult a thing to pull off, but still worth watching I think.

So it seems!

strong cases of "lalalaIcanthearyou", I see.

Mmmmm, great food scene in Austin. /Misses point

On a more serious note (cheese grits, drool), it will be interesting to see how this develops. It may be tempting to dismiss it as a "pretend uni for right-wingers," but honestly the US is already crawling with private religious unis that lean socially and politically conservative. No one really needs to start another one (in Austin of all places) and I doubt there's sufficient support for a "right-wing but not religious" university to make such an endeavour worthwhile.

So I think it's likely they are, in fact, trying to create something that isn't strictly left or right, but is stepping outside the conservative groupthink of the religion-based unis, and the liberal groupthink of the mainstream unis. And good for them if they succeed.

Looks like the reason they're just starting with some summer courses is that they need to achieve accreditation before being able to officially offer degree programs. If they were shysters they'd be glossing over that bit, but they're perfectly transparent about it in their FAQs.

(Best masala dosas I've ever had....)

I've always had a soft spot for Austin, visited a few times.

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel

All it takes is money and I would not be surprised if there were plenty of wealthy philanthropists willing to get behind it.

What kind of philanthropists though? Very woke ones aren’t going to fund this commitment to truth and surely it’s not trying to appeal to serious conservative money ie also anti rights and truth except the ones that suit them. In America this needs a middle ground, does it exist in philanthropy?

@Manderleyagain

I wonder whether they will be able to get accreditation which they will apply for? And in the mean time whether they will be able to get another uni to award their degrees. That could be the political stumbling block.

How would it work in the UK? I've got a feeling you need an act of parliament to establish a new uni that can award degrees in its own name.

New universities in the US can do this, it generally takes a few years to get there.

What kind of philanthropists though? Very woke ones aren’t going to fund this commitment to truth and surely it’s not trying to appeal to serious conservative money ie also anti rights and truth except the ones that suit them. In America this needs a middle ground, does it exist in philanthropy?

Apparently, it's funded by "Cicero Research" which is a project of Palantir co-founder Jon Lonsdale and his private equity/venture capital family. That would fall under my comment above about the character of some the men involved in this project.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/11/08/kathleen-stock-takes-job-anti-cancel-culture-university-welcomes/

Trans row professor takes job at 'anti-cancel culture' university.

Prof Stock clarified that the role, which is not full time, would not require her to relocated to the US, but that it would enable her to "get involved in various ways from a UK base".

According to Bari Weiss, an American journalist and author, who is on the board of advisers, Prof Stock is among the founding faculty fellows.

"This univerity will welcome witches who refuse to burn", she said.

I think Stock has lost credibility with this. I had heard on grapevine she wanted to jump and students provided the springboard on cue. Clearly this was lined up, so not so heroic really. Also getting on board with a number of decidedly unfeminist thinkers. Nit impressive

@Obakarama

I think Stock has lost credibility with this. I had heard on grapevine she wanted to jump and students provided the springboard on cue. Clearly this was lined up, so not so heroic really. Also getting on board with a number of decidedly unfeminist thinkers. Nit impressive

She was, de facto, in workplace proximity to many, many unfeminist thinkers unless I misunderstand the make-up of her colleagues at Sussex and the signatories to the letter.

@Obakarama

I think Stock has lost credibility with this. I had heard on grapevine she wanted to jump and students provided the springboard on cue. Clearly this was lined up, so not so heroic really. Also getting on board with a number of decidedly unfeminist thinkers. Nit impressive

I take it you are not a fan of the idea of the university as a place where many ideas can be found?

@Obakarama

I think Stock has lost credibility with this. I had heard on grapevine she wanted to jump and students provided the springboard on cue. Clearly this was lined up, so not so heroic really. Also getting on board with a number of decidedly unfeminist thinkers. Nit impressive

Really? Really really really? Tilts head, rolls eyes etc.

I don't know anything about this new university so I won't comment on that. But if we're going to everyone who checks out their options before resigning their post then please show me the door and I'll leave quietly.

@Obakarama

I think Stock has lost credibility with this. I had heard on grapevine she wanted to jump and students provided the springboard on cue. Clearly this was lined up, so not so heroic really. Also getting on board with a number of decidedly unfeminist thinkers. Nit impressive

What does ‘heroic’ have to do with it? I haven’t seen anyone framing Stock leaving Sussex as heroic, more as tragic and disgraceful that the university didn’t do more to support her.

I am delighted she has an interesting new project to work on . They are very lucky to have her on board and yes as a feminist she will be an excellent counterpoint to some of the ‘big swinging dick’ types on the list.

I'm pleased for her, she will feel much less alone.

It's not the only offer she's received either :)

Many ideas can be found in my university. To say anything else is a fantasy. I am not so sure about this on though. It is motivated by a sense that leftist ideas are dominant in the academy and wrongheaded.Think it will have many blindspots. Its free speech rhetoric is just that, rhetoric. Its ideological conviction is made of iron.

It is motivated by a sense that leftist ideas are dominant in the academy and wrongheaded.

I think it's more than just that they're "dominant", which is indisputable. (This graph from a Harvard survey).

It's that they're intolerant and conformist to go with it.

Although maybe the latter arises naturally from the dominance, if left unchecked.

Given sufficient commitment to freedom of speech and prioritising truth above all else, being so incredibly politically one-sided would be less of an issue.

Truthers...yeah, we love to see it!

You've moved from rumours to name calling. Surely you can do better than that?

there's a truther amongst them? I have just found an alleged rapist, DV perpetrator, Epstein friend and misogynist... (among the first 3 men associated with the uni I looked at).

Sadly I'd wager there's not a single university without a rapist on its payroll, given how widespread sexual abuse is

@Obakarama

I think Stock has lost credibility with this. I had heard on grapevine she wanted to jump and students provided the springboard on cue. Clearly this was lined up, so not so heroic really. Also getting on board with a number of decidedly unfeminist thinkers. Nit impressive

Well it was fucking lucky for her that a load of activists turned up with smoke bombs and balaclavas at her place of work and she got rape and death threats and that the police then advised her to stay away for her own safety then wasn't it?

Lucky lucky Kathleen.

When I've left jobs I've found it easier to just say 'Er. Boss? I've had a better offer,' and then walk out with a cardboard box containing a limp pot plant and a mug that says 'World's Best [insert profession]'

But maybe I've been missing something and antifa could have filled that aching void?

I mean she might have stuck it out, had there not been a soon to close voluntary severance pay off and this new outfit in the offing

Good luck to her. I can't stand her analytical philosophy, which I hope she is employed to teach, but I suspect she is there rather as an emblem of something other.

@Obakarama

I mean she might have stuck it out, had there not been a soon to close voluntary severance pay off and this new outfit in the offing

Good luck to her. I can't stand her analytical philosophy, which I hope she is employed to teach, but I suspect she is there rather as an emblem of something other.

I know what you meant.

You.meant snark, snark, nasty thinly veiled insult, bit of mud slinging, 'not so heroic after all', minimise, wasn't so bad what happened really, she probably wanted it, misogyny, rumour, innuendo, othering, victim blaming 101.

That's what you meant. And we see you meaning it.

About a woman who has been hounded out of a job she had for 20 years by a bunch of violent misogynist thugs.

Take it somewhere else.