Faculty at Texas A&M University were told this week that roughly 200 courses in the College of Arts and Sciences could be affected by a new system policy restricting classroom discussions of race and gender, the implementation of which has already led administrators to direct a philosophy professor to remove Plato readings from a core course.
The changes are being made days before the semester begins and after some students have registered to attend.
The Texas Tribune obtained emails sent by college administrators showing the policy has already led to courses being cancelled or renumbered to remove them from core curriculum credit, with professors directed to alter course content or teach different classes.
The A&M System Board of Regents approved a policy in November requiring campus presidents to sign off on courses that could be seen as advocating "race and gender ideology" or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity. The move followed a student's secret recording of a professor discussing gender identity in a children's literature class that went viral on social media, sparking conservative backlash.
Regents revised the policy in December, barring most discussion of those topics in introductory or core curriculum courses unless administrators determine the material serves a "necessary educational purpose" and approve it in writing. This set off a rapid review of courses ahead of the spring semester's Jan. 12 start.
Emails sent by college administrators Tuesday show that an introductory sociology course on race and ethnicity was canceled, a communications course on religion and the arts was renumbered and stripped of core curriculum credit, and a philosophy professor was told to remove Plato readings and other material related to race and gender from a core course or be reassigned.
In an email to students who had enrolled in SOCI 217, Introduction to Race and Ethnicity, administrators said they "carefully considered" whether the course could comply with the revised policy and "concluded that we cannot teach this course in its present form." The message acknowledged that students enrolled in the class for a variety of reasons and said those with a "demonstrable need" to complete the course for a degree or career goals could pursue it instead through an independent study course.
Introduction to Race and Ethnicity had drawn scrutiny in the past. Texas Scorecard, a conservative website that is widely read by elected Texas Republicans and A&M regents, published stories in September and October criticizing the course and its assigned readings and identifying the professor who taught it.
In another case, Professor Martin Peterson submitted his syllabus for PHIL 111, Contemporary Moral Issues, for review Dec. 22. On Tuesday, his department head told him he had two options: remove the modules on race ideology and gender ideology, including readings from Plato, or be reassigned to teach a noncore philosophy course. The email, obtained by the Tribune, gave Peterson until the close of business Wednesday to decide.
Peterson responded that he would revise the syllabus, saying he plans to replace the Plato readings with lectures on free speech and academic freedom.
In a statement to the Tribune, A&M said the decision did not amount to a ban on teaching Plato and that other sections of the same course that include Plato – but do not include modules on race and gender ideology – had been approved.
The course changes described in those emails followed a broader review process that College of Arts and Sciences Interim Dean Simon North discussed Monday during a regularly scheduled meeting with a group of about a half-dozen faculty members.
Three faculty members in attendance told the Tribune that when asked, North said the college had identified roughly 200 courses as potentially affected by policy restrictions.
Andrew Klein, another faculty member who attended the meeting but could not recall the specific number of affected courses, said he understood the number to be preliminary because departments across the college were working under different deadlines to submit syllabi for review.
Faculty were told some departments were in the process of renumbering courses to take them out of the core curriculum, even classes that already had students enrolled for this semester. Others would need to remove readings or discussion topics, according to Sally Robinson, a professor who attended the meeting.
Faculty can ask for an exemption if they demonstrate that topics of race and gender are core to the curricula. Robinson said North told faculty members he estimated the college would request about 30 courses to be exempt from the policy, which the university will need to accept or deny in the coming weeks.
"Everyone is worried about students and about what's going to happen next week," said Robinson, who is asking for an exemption for two of her courses. "It's unclear to us, and I think it's unclear to the college as well, how those decisions are going to get made and who actually is going to make them."
The Tribune left a voicemail for North and emailed detailed questions but did not receive a response. Two associate deans who were also contacted did not respond.
Peterson told the Tribune that the directive he received undermines the purpose of a university as a place for open inquiry and debate.
"Plato founded the Academy, the very first university," Peterson said. "If we cannot freely discuss Plato, we no longer have a university."
The Texas A&M Chapter of the American Association of University Professors and the Foundation of Individual Rights and Expression also criticized the move.
"This is what happens when the board of regents gives university bureaucrats veto power over academic content," said Lindsie Rank, director of campus rights advocacy at the Foundation of Individual Rights and Expression. "The board didn't just invite censorship, they unleashed it with immediate and predictable consequences."
The College of Arts and Sciences is one of 17 colleges and schools at Texas A&M University in College Station, the flagship campus that includes 11 other universities subject to the same policy.
Other public university systems are taking similar steps. The Texas Tech University System now prohibits certain race- or sex-related course content except if it is required for licensing, certification or patient care, and Texas State University administrators have urged professors to revise course descriptions and titles they consider ideological.
Disclosure: Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University System have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
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