The Review: Tenure on the Chopping Block, a Dispute About Religious Studies, and More

Are State Legislators Poised to Move Against Tenure? ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( [logo] [Read this newsletter on the web](. The news out of Kansas is bad. As The Chronicle’s [Emma Pettit explains]( as of last week, “the state’s six public universities can more expeditiously suspend and fire employees, including tenured faculty members.” And that’s without declaring a state of financial exigency, which is typically the requisite condition for getting rid of tenured faculty members. Right now, the University of Kansas in Lawrence is the only one of the six universities in the Kansas system not to rule out adopting the measure. Ani Kokobobo, who teaches Slavic literature and languages at the Lawrence campus, [describes the fear and anger on the ground.]( more afraid than the newly vulnerable tenured faculty are the staff, as Kokobobo explains: “When faculty members like me speak up, staff members rush to thank us — they often do not feel they could speak openly without risking their jobs.” When even tenure is no good, what protection does anyone else have? The Kansas calamity, hastened by Covid-19, might be a testing ground for a question [Ed Burmila asked last summer]( “Are there enough academic workers with a stake in the tenure system left to defend it?” Tenure has never been merely a form of job protection, but if it’s not at least that, it’s hard to know what other ends it can serve. Last year, before anyone had ever heard of Covid-19, Georgetown’s [Greg Afinogenov argued presciently]( “As the status of faculty members moves closer to that of other service employees … we need to follow their example and rebuild our power from below. Tenured-faculty work may, in the process, come to look very different — more like the job protections enjoyed by the vast majority of unionized public-school teachers than like the exclusive club of today’s academe.” We’ll see what happens. Paid for and Created by Salesforce [Together Apart: With online communities, institutions can support student wellbeing during the pandemic]( For Cornell University, the ability to support students’ wellbeing by providing them with information and resources when, and how, they need it made all the difference in generating a sense of community during the pandemic. ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( Subscribe to The Chronicle The Chronicle’s award-winning journalism challenges conventional wisdom, holds academic leaders accountable, and empowers you to do your job better — and it’s your support that makes our work possible. [Subscribe Today]( The Latest THE REVIEW [Religious Studies Strikes Back]( By Jacques Berlinerblau [image] A response to secularism’s critics. ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( THE REVIEW [The Fight for the University of Kansas]( By Ani Kokobobo [image] The Board of Regents is working to weaken tenure. But all is not yet lost. THE REVIEW [Bad Religion, or Bad Faith?]( By Caleb Smith [image] The truth is that neither secularism nor its academic critique is aligned with justice. THE REVIEW [The Problem With Biden’s Higher-Education Plan]( By Brian Rosenberg [image] More students will go to college, but many will leave without a diploma. THE REVIEW [Artificial Intelligence Is a House Divided]( By Michael Wooldridge [image] A decades-old rivalry has riven the field. It’s time to move on. God is in the house Last month, Jacques Berlinerblau offered a [widely]( provocation]( faulting religious studies for what he sees as the field’s pro-religious bias, reflected in its failure to predict the events of January 6 at the Capitol. In a [rejoinder published last week]( Yale’s Caleb Smith argues that Berlinerblau’s vision of secularism is blind both to the violence and to the religiosity of the putatively secular state. Here’s Smith describing the ritual aspects of Joe Biden’s swearing-in: The truth is that neither secularism nor its critique is necessarily on the side of justice. The conflict over Biden’s swearing-in should not be mistaken for a struggle between secularism and the Christian right. It was a crisis of political legitimacy, and both the party of Trump and the party of Biden invoked a divine sanction as they made their claims for power. Consider, for example, the inauguration ceremony. What happened there? The president and vice president were sworn into office, placing their hands on Bibles. A prayer was spoken. “Amazing Grace” was sung. Read Smith’s essay, and then read Berlinerblau’s [rejoinder to the rejoinder, here.]( Recommended - At The Nation, [Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins talks with the philosopher Charles Mills]( about liberalism, the racial contract, Herrenvolk societies, and what’s the matter with Rawls. - "Even the physical experience of actually ingesting food was somehow filtered through the lens of the internet, which was constantly devising new and better ways for us to consume." [At]( Aaron Timms on the pre- and post-Covid restaurant.]( - At Jstor Daily, [Ashawnta Jackson]( on Alain Locke’s 1925 anthology The New Negro: An Interpretation, which enters the public domain this year. - The year 2021 will see the return the 17-year cicada. I remember the last eruption vividly — I was in Baltimore, home from college, and the streets of my neighborhood stank with cicada corpses. I didn’t try eating any of them, but that’s only because I didn’t know about this 1987 article from [The B]( Sun,]( “Cicada Cuisine.”]( We like to say that The Review is where academe comes to argue with itself. And we’re always hoping to hear from you. If you have thoughts about our recent coverage, stories or topics you want us to know about, or feedback on this newsletter, drop us a line at opinion@chronicle.com. Yours, Len Gutkin Paid for and Created by Fluidigm [COVID-19 testing solution]( Collaborating to develop a new COVID-19 test, Fluidigm’s microfluids technology allows for a noninvasive saliva test, addressing the pressing need for increased testing and for a significant improvement in testing accessibility. Burned Out and Overburdened: How to Support the Faculty Professors are anxious and burned out. They’ve been pivoting. They’ve been juggling work and child care. They’ve been worried — about Covid-19, the economy, social justice, the nation’s divisive political climate. This collection includes many of The Chronicle’s essential reads on how colleges can support their faculty members — and how professors can help themselves — during these stressful times. [Order your copy today.]( Job Opportunities [Search the Chronicle's jobs database]( to view the latest jobs in higher education. What did you think of today’s newsletter? [Strongly disliked]( // [It was OK]( // [Loved it](. 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