For a couple of years now, legislators in a number of states have proposed - and at times passed - legislation aimed at restricting what topics and subjects should be allowed in K-12 history classes. Many of these efforts are aimed at controlling how much students should be permitted to learn about so called “divisive concepts”: race/racism, the history of sexuality, or LGBTQIA+ experiences. Recently, the state of Florida attempted to extend these efforts to regulate academic freedom into higher education, and although a federal appeals court, in March 2023, declared the "Stop W.O.K.E. Act" unconstitutional, many educators and academic freedom advocates fear for the future of honest classroom discussion and research.
For this first student-produced and moderated episode of Many Voices, One Call, history concentration majors Grace, Alexa, Roman and Jessabelle interviewed educator and equity advocate Thearse McCalmon, Professor of History Dr. Dean Bennett, SUNY Schenectady student and former history teacher Joseph Berlant, as well as William Ernst and Michael Asbury with the organization Braver Angels about what the current debate on teachable topics in history might mean for learning, teaching, and academic speech.
The recording and editing of the podcast was possible thanks to Connor Raab and Sten Isachsen at the School of Music. Heather Meaney, Karen Tanski, and Jessica McHugh Green deserve credit for promoting the podcast. We are grateful for the SUNY Schenectady Foundation's continuing financial support. Further thanks go to the School of Music, the Division of Liberal Arts, and the REACH Initiative at SUNY Schenectady.
This has been a project for the course HIS 250-01: Topics in History: The American Revolution, at SUNY Schenectady (Spring 2023)
The views voiced on this episode reflect the lived experiences and uncensored opinions of the guests; they do not necessarily capture the full diversity of attitudes within a larger community, nor do they express an official view of SUNY Schenectady.