Eugene's Hypos Come to Life

[Elizabeth Dale]

At 08:36 PM 9/26/01 -0700, Bill Funk wrote:
>  In other words, can a public university prohibit
>teachers from teaching their students that violent, illegal conduct is
>worthy of praise.

Surely even this prohibition is dangerously broad.

There were, after all, any number of events in our history (let alone the
history of other countries) where violent, illegal actions occurred. What
of John Brown, various late nineteenth and early twentieth century labor
strikes, Shay's Rebellion, the Boston Massacre, the civil rights protests
of the 1960s, which often began non-violent and became violent, or other
events of  that sort? US historians have to teach those events, and
probably have to teach them in a manner that would involve putting them
into perspective, which may often include the point of view that some or
all of these acts of violence were "good or important things" if not
necessarily praiseworthy.

Or, to shift the perspective, what about a professor who wishes to teach
that the government can and has undertaken violent and illegal acts, such
as the Trail of Tears, which was probably illegal given various treaties,
and assuredly violent, or, to use a more obvious example, what about the
Vietnam War, which was obviously violent, and many think illegal?

Or what about a professor, who in trying to make a historical event -- the
religious violence in England in the 16th and 17th centuries, say -- come
to life for a bunch of 21st century students, compares some of the feelings
and attitudes then to the attitudes of some of the people apparently
involved in the WTC and Pentagon bombing. Is that praising violence and
illegal behavior?


Elizabeth Dale, Assistant Professor
US Legal History, Department of History

Adjunct Faculty, Levin College of Law

University of Florida
PO Box 117320
Gainesville FL 32611

edale at history.ufl.edu
http://plaza.ufl.edu/edale