Please consider supporting this protest by signing the petition,
forwarding the message, or taking other appropriate action.
The department at Middlesex hosts the journal 'Radical Philosophy', a
vital resource for politically engaged reflection upon academic
activity: Peter Hallward, one of two the professors suspended, is its
editor.
J.
Dear Friends & Colleagues,
I would not usually fill up your email boxes in this way. However, I
believe that the actions currently being pursued by the administration
at Middlesex University carry grave consequences -- not only for
philosophy (and indeed for the humanities as a whole), but vis-a-vis the
very role and organization of the university in the years to come. I am
writing to ask you to support the protests against these actions.
Many of you will already have heard about the abrupt and unwarranted
closure of the highly-ranked and internationally renowned programme in
philosophy at Middlesex University in London. I was a part-time
lecturer in the humanities faculty at Middlesex University in the 1990s
when I was doing my PhD, and my partner is currently a senior lecturer
at Middlesex University. The vandalous actions that the administration
has been pursuing in the last few weeks have therefore struck us both
particularly hard, and I'm writing to ask for your support in protesting
them.
The administration’s latest action in this case, the suspension of
Professor Peter Osborne and Professor Peter Hallward, along with a
number of Middlesex philosophy students, is a grave threat to academic
freedom.
Administrators at other universities internationally are carefully
monitoring this situation and due to a ratcheting effect, if these
suspensions are not overturned by international protest, they will
become common practice. We must prevent this administrative bullying of
our colleagues, who were doing nothing but attempting to present their
side of the case to public opinion.
You can read about the suspensions and the latest on what is happening
here: http://savemdxphil.com/
<http://savemdxphil.com/2010/05/21/philosophy-students-and-staff-suspended/>
You can find details on why the original decision has already provoked
an international outcry
here:http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2010/05/17/protevi.
Today I’m asking you to protect academic freedom and the integrity of
the modern university by taking as many of the following steps as you can.
1. Please forward this email to colleagues and to any listservs you may
belong to.
2. If you have not already done so, please sign the online petition for
restoration of the programme
at:http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-middlesex-philosophy.html.
Please include your institutional affiliation and location.
3. Please sign the new pledge for an Academic Boycott of Middlesex
University until restoration of its philosophy programme
http://www.gopetition.com/online/36583/signatures.html
<http://www.gopetition.com/online/36583/signatures.html>4. Please write
a letter of protest by email, and in hard copy, concerning the original
decision, the suspensions, or both. If you have already written in
protest of the original decision, please consider writing again to
protest the suspensions, which are in some sense an even more serious
matter, as they strike at the very heart of academic freedom itself.
a. Examples of previous letters are
here: http://savemdxphil.com/category/letters-of-support/
b. Email addresses of the Board of Governors of Middlesex
University are here insemicolon format: [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>.uk; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>k; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>k; [log in to unmask];
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>;
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>m;
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>om; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>; [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>;
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>;
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>;
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>.gov.uk;
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>;
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>; [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
comma format: [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>.uk, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>k, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>k, [log in to unmask],
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>,
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>m,
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>om, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>,
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>,
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>,
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>.gov.uk,
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>,
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
c. Please follow your email with a hard copy letter on
departmental letterhead. The postal address is:
Board of Governors
Middlesex University in London
The Burroughs
London NW4 4BT England
d. Personal letters are great; departmental letters are even better.
e. If you agree to have your letter published on the Save Middlesex
Philosophy website, you should BCC [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>.
4. If you have a blog, please make a post on the situation and link
to http://savemdxphil.com <http://savemdxphil.com/>.
___________________________________
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