Analysis
Ward Churchill’s case is important because of it represents the latest round in an on-going battle to eviscerate academic freedom, eliminate ethnic studies, and corporatize education.
Law professor Terry Smith concludes, “Ward Churchill’s odyssey through the courts may well come to define not merely the latest juncture in an evolving First Amendment jurisprudence but to some degree, how free we remain as a people.”
Many scholars have written critiques of CU's attacks on Ward Churchill:
- Some Questions We Should Be Asking About the Attacks on Ward Churchill –
Ad Hoc Coalition in Support of Ward Churchill Advertisement - Letter to the Regents – ACLU
- Defend Ward Churchill – Bill Ayers
- Scholars Nationally Say the University of Colorado’s “Investigation” of Ward Churchill is a Sham:
The ACTA Connection – Boulder and Denver Faculty Ad Hoc Committee to Defend Academic Freedom - Opposition Mounts As Showdown Approaches Over The Firing Of Ward Churchill – Concerned Academics
- Letter to Hank Brown – James Craven
- Statement Of The AAUP Chapter At The University Of Colorado At Boulder Regarding The Investigation And Recommended Termination Of Professor Ward Churchill – CU-B AAUP
- On Behalf Of Robust Academic Freedom – Richard Falk
- Little Eichmanns & 9/11: Ward Churchill Revisited – Marlena Gangi
- It’s Just a Farce: Ward Churchill and the Research Misconduct Inquisition – Jeff Hendricks
- Academic Freedom in Iran and America – Robert Jensen
- An Open Letter to the Regents of the University of Colorado on Ward Churchill: In Defense of Academic Freedom — Gary Leupp
- The Plagiarism Charges Against Ward Churchill — Tom Mayer
- The Report on Ward Churchill – Tom Mayer
- Resolution in Defense of Ethnic Studies and Support of Prof. Ward Churchill – National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies
- Now is the Time to Speak Out! The Regents and Ward Churchill — Natsu Saito
- Some Thoughts on the Ward Churchill Case and on Ethnic Studies at C.U., Boulder — Albert Ramirez, Chair, Department of Ethnic Studies University of Colorado, Boulder
Many scholarly studies discussing this case include:
Edward J. Carvalho and David B. Downing, eds., Works and Days: Academic Freedom and Intellectual Activism in the Post-9/11 University (forthcoming 2008), featuring:
- Derrick Bell, “Academic Freedom in Political Perspective”
- Eric Cheyfitz, “Framing Ward Churchill: The Political Construction of Research Misconduct”
- Richard Delgado, “Of Cops and Bumper Stickers: Notes Toward a Theory of Selective Prosecution,” Syracuse Law Review, Vol. 57, 175-185 (2007).
- Richard Delgado, “Shooting the Messenger,” American Indian Law Review, Vol. 30, 477-494 (2005-2006).
- Deborah Waire Post, “Academic Freedom as Private Ordering: Politics and Professionalism in the 21st Century,” Loyola (New Orleans) Law Review, Vol. 53, 177-215 (Summer 2007).
- Terry Smith, “Speaking Against Norms: Public Discourse and the Economy of Racialization in the Workplace,” American University Law Review, Vol. 57, 523-584 (Feb. 2008).
- Rex S. Wirth, Thomas R. Whiddon, and Tony J. Manson, eds., What is Wrong with Academia Today? Essays on the Politicization of American Education (2008); – includes Ward Churchill, “The Myth of Academic Freedom,” at 135-204.
- Michael Yellow Bird, “On the Justice of Charging Buffalo: ‘Who Stole American Indians Studies?’ Redux, Wicazo Sa Review, 91-99 (Spring 2007)
