*Butler University has sparked outrage (among the right) over its planned course on “Trumpism and U.S. Democracy,” which was advertised as teaching students to “potentially engage” in “strategies for resistance” to President Donald Trump.
Backlash against the private school in Indianapolis started when an early version of the course description circulated on Twitter describing Trump as a perpetuator of “sexism, white supremacy, xenophobia, nationalism, nativism and imperialism.”
The tweet began to flood conservative news outlets and eventually reached the “retweet” button of former Indiana state Sen. Carlin Yoder, a Republican, on Tuesday.
One of our proud Indiana institution’s offerings. Slightly outrageous pic.twitter.com/nrcEcfcYP8
— Carlin Yoder (@carlinyoder) May 2, 2017
Butler provost and vice president for academic affairs Kathryn Morris defended the course in a letter posted to the school’s website. “Just as I support this course, I would support a course that is complimentary of the President,” she wrote. “Butler offers a variety of courses that tackle controversial topics. Like any University, Butler should — and does — promote an environment of critical inquiry and engagement on controversial and unpopular topics.”
Morris said in her letter that students are not required “to participate in activism” should they enroll in the class, which will still be taught in the upcoming fall semester, but with an edited course description that dilutes the language.
“The professor has been very transparent about the goals of the course and has provided additional context that clarifies students in the class will not be required to participate in a particular form of activism,” Morris wrote. “They will be asked to engage with classic and contemporary readings, including a text by President Trump, and evaluate the rise of the President as a political and social phenomenon.”
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