Saturday 18 March 2006

Dr Frank Ellis: illiberal nonsense

I witnessed Thursday's protest against Dr Ellis. Students and staff were abundant, with Unite Against Fascism and the ever-present Revolution Society in attendance. I didn't count "more than 300" as The Guardian did; any more than the 200 counted by Leeds Student seems optimistic. However many of them there were, I couldn't help but think it was too many chanting "Ellis Ellis Ellis, out out out". They're meeting his illiberal nonsense with their own.*

In an interview a few weeks ago in Leeds Student he talked about his views on the 'Bell Curve theory' and talked about his dislike of multiculturalism and feminism. He's been quoted numerous times in the national press as saying that the British National Party are "a little too socialist" for his liking (they cite that as if it shows how extreme his views are, but that's only evident if you cling to the black-and-white left-and-right view of politics, where shades of grey only occur within a rigid linear spectrum).

I'm unsure how I feel about the whole affair. Ellis's views sound like ridiculous trite, but that on its own is certainly no reason to call for his dismissal. A large number of Leeds students have signed a petition advocating just that, and if they grounds for that dismissal is simply his racism and anti-feminism, then that's part of the illiberal nonsense I mentioned. If it's proven that Ellis discriminates between students on the basis of race or gender, then there would certainly be a case for sacking him — but no such evidence has come forward so far, as far as I'm aware.

What Ellis has done is publicise his views, which many have argued is an obstacle to equal opportunities, since it might, for example, discourage black and female students from taking Ellis's classes. That's the kind of issue the university will have to consider.

On a positive note, the protest shows that students do give a damn and do have political opinions, as LS editor Jessica Salter points out. Hopefully the controversy has brought Ellis's views, particular the dubious Bell Curve stuff, to a critical light: in Friday's LS, Gospel Ipkeme wrote about the Bell Curve and its critics. That's the kind of battle I want to see: winning the arguments, not the fights. Sacking Ellis for being racist would set quite a dangerous precedent.

*It's times like this I realise how important liberal tenets are, and how ingrained they are in our society. But enough about liberalism for now.

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

what would you prefer Sammage? headlines which said "students a bit upset over Ellis remarks, but show restraint and quote Voltaire"? And I don't understand how speaking out against what isn't liberal, is illiberal in itself. Would you be saying the same if you were a black woman who had to attend this guy's lectures? The best course of action here would simply be to boycott this guy's lectures, making it clear that such views have no place at Leeds Uni.

1:38 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's funny that none of these studies look at races on an equal footing (ie from similar economical and educational backgrounds). As a scientist myself, I know that without the proper controls in a exp. the results are meaningless. additionally, one must be sure that the exp. is measuring what you think it is (theory must be made practical).

4:39 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

In response to the second comment: I'm afraid your point is rather meaningless. All it does is make a number of claims that Africa (the place, rather than the people who live there) is the source of everything good. It comes as a surprise to learn that religion, the Jews, the Chinese and Romans are African. What, exactly, isn't? If Jews are African and that makes Einstein's achievements African, then everything every Jew ever did must be African achievements. If the theory that humanity originated in Africa is true, then - ultimately - so did everything to do with humanity, all its pros and cons. If it's not this theory you're referring to, then I'd love to know precisely how Albert Einstein and, say, Hinduism are African.

6:10 pm  

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