Dozens of UCSC professors sign letter against plans to create ‘viewpoint-neutral history of Middle East’ 

Amid rising tensions on college campuses, about 150 professors from the University of California system, including 33 from UC Santa Cruz, signed a letter calling on UC President Michael Drake to rescind plans to develop programming on campuses that presents a “viewpoint-neutral history of the Middle East.” 

The professors say the plans, part of a push by Drake to address criticism of the UC’s response to the Israel-Hamas conflict, raises concerns that the UC administration is infringing on the professors’ academic freedom to create and teach curriculum on controversial topics, and is also “an unneeded rebuke of the rigorous work” done by their colleagues. 

“There is a clear, structural difference between government agencies avoiding the endorsement of a particular political position and university-based professionals presenting conflicting viewpoints as a normal part of our curriculum,” the professors’ statement reads. “We are all committed to inclusivity and academic excellence, but to suggest that the UC administration should determine how and what we teach will set a chilling precedent for our field and the many others engaged in teaching topics that might be considered controversial or divisive, like climate change, the history of racism, and genocide and mass atrocity.” 

Drake made the remarks during a Nov. 15 board of regents meeting in light of rising reports of Islamophobia and antisemitism on college campuses. He added that the UC is committing $7 million toward mental health resources, educational programming and leadership training for staff and faculty on topics like academic freedom and freedom of expression. 

He said $2 million of that total will go toward educational programming that will “include programs focused on better understanding antisemitism and Islamophobia, how to recognize and combat extremism, and a viewpoint-neutral history of the Middle East.” 

UCSC faculty who signed the letter have affiliations with a range of specializations, including feminist studies, history, critical race & ethnic studies, Latin American & Latino studies, history of consciousness, sociology and politics. Directors of campus centers also signed the letter, including Center for Jewish Studies Director Nathaniel Deutsch, Center for South Asian Studies Director Anjali Arondekar and Center for Racial Justice Director Christine Hong. 

The signatories represent a variety of viewpoints on the Middle East and the Israel-Palestine conflict. Deutsch recently organized a “learn-in” event on Israel and Palestine history, and Hong is part of the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism, which hosted an inaugural event to critique Zionism in Santa Cruz and New York City in October. 

Muriam Haleh Davis, a UCSC associate history professor, said Drake’s remarks not only felt “like a slap in the face” to those who specialize in Middle Eastern studies, but they also raise concerns of a chilling effect on how they teach. Davis specializes in North Africa and settler colonialism in Algeria. 

“I really believe in the vocation of public education and what we do,” said Davis. “And it did feel a little bit like having my hand slapped by somebody who doesn’t understand what I do.” 

Davis has been working in Tunisia this quarter but plans to return next quarter, when she’ll be teaching a course on modern Arab thought that includes a section on exile and voices of Palestinian intellectuals. 

She said that by calling on professors to be viewpoint-neutral, there’s an implication that somehow they are biased. 

“We might all have our personal convictions. But when you submit an article for review for a journal, it’s about the evidence that you rely on and that’s what history is about,” Davis said. “It’s about making arguments based on evidence. The idea of viewpoint-neutral to me was a bit absurd, and the undertone was that somehow we are not being viewpoint-neutral, i.e., we’re being biased.”

Greg O’Malley, a UCSC history professor since 2009, expressed similar concerns about Drake’s comments, adding that he doesn’t think viewpoint-neutral history exists. 

“Even if different historians agree on a set of historical facts, which facts they think are most important or which facts they want to emphasize are shaped by a person’s viewpoint,” he said. “I think most historians would agree with that, and so it struck me as a very uninformed statement about history for our university president to be making.” 

O’Malley, who studies the history of slavery, said he also felt that Drake’s comments were an insult to the faculty who teach history of the Middle East.  

“It seemed to me that President Drake was suggesting that the UC’s have so far been producing some kind of bias to the history of the Middle East,” he said. “I would have liked to have seen President Drake touting the important scholarship happening on UC campuses already by UC scholars and the way they are fostering the kind of conversation he was saying he wanted to throw new funds at creating.” 

UC says programming is voluntary

The UC Office of the President said in a statement Thursday that the letter references voluntary, extracurricular programming and isn’t related to what’s taught in the classroom. 

“The president’s remarks were referencing voluntary, extracurricular educational programming on our campuses, not classroom content or curriculum,” the statement read. “These additional initiatives do not restrict or compel faculty activities in any way; they are optional and will be implemented in a way that reflects community input.”

Davis said the UC’s statement is unclear on exactly what voluntary educational programming is or how anyone can create a framework for that kind of programming. 

“Does that mean student groups? Does that mean teach-ins?” she said. “A lot of the ways that voluntary learning happens is pretty spontaneous and not paid. It’s not part of what we do for a living – we don’t get a paycheck for it.” 

UCSC spokesperson Scott Hernandez-Jason directed questions about how the funding will be used to the UC Office of the President. He didn’t respond as to whether or not the campus will develop voluntary programming with a “viewpoint-neutral history of the Middle East.”

As for other efforts UCSC is putting toward responding to rising reports of Islamophobia and antisemitism, Hernandez-Jason said the campus has issued a message about the rights and responsibilities “that come with being part of a university community” and is continuing to provide mental health resources. 

He added that students “are encouraged to report incidents of bias, hate, intimidation or exploitation to campus through our Bias Response program.”

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