University of Michigan professor David Halperin is under fire for teaching a course entitled, "How to be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation". Gee, I can't imagine why such a course would spark outrage; can you?
A family-values lobbyist is leading public opposition to the self-proclaimed "uncompromising political militancy" of the professor who teaches "lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender." The lobbyist, Gary Glenn, says professor David M. Halperin and the university "are guilty of perpetrating a fraud against UM students and the people of Michigan [with] propaganda statements...
The professor says critics misunderstand the "How to be Gay" class.
"It does not teach students to be homosexual," Mr. Halperin says in an interview. "Rather, it examines critically the odd notion that there are right and wrong ways to be gay, that homosexuality is not just a sexual practice or desire but a set of specific tastes in music, movies, and other cultural forms — a notion which is shared by straight and gay people alike...
The course description says students "will examine a number of cultural artifacts and activities" including "camp, diva-worship, drag, muscle culture, taste, style and political activism." Mr. Halperin's class explores "the role that initiation plays in the formation of gay male identity..."
Mr. Glenn notes that Mr. Halperin has boasted in print about his success in advancing a homosexual agenda. In a 1996 article in an academic journal, Mr. Halperin wrote: "Let there be no mistake about it: lesbian and gay studies, as it is currently practiced in the U.S., expresses an uncompromising political militancy. ... The emergence of lesbian and gay studies has brought about a far-reaching intellectual transformation in the disciplines of the humanities, arts and social sciences as well as in the social life of American universities and in the professional culture of American academe."
Robert M. Owen, associate dean for undergraduate education in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, claims that this course is but one part of the university's "genuine search for intellectually interesting and sometimes provocative subject matters." It's not surprising that Mr. Halperin is both a political activist and is teaching a course that most likely advances a political agenda. Unfortunately, it's also not surprising that a college dean would defend a course about drag queens and gym rats as part of an "intellectual" search for truth on a college campus, all at taxpayer expense.
Posted by kswygert at August 18, 2003 10:42 AM