H.D.S Greenway’s recent Boston Globe Op Ed explanation of the lack of Muslim assimilation in Europe was pathetic. Today in the Globe, a couple of Harvard profs do a much better job of explaining the situation in France, and the country’s steadfast rejection not only of identity politics but of legal recognition of ethnic identity. This leaves no legal remedy for widespread racial or ethnic discrimination. The professors claim this is just beginning to change in the population, but not in French academia. Money quote:

Sadly, since this welcomed wind of change has started to blow, the academic world has remained intriguingly silent. With the exception of a few courageous souls, what still marks so many members of the French intellectual class is their overall commitment to the ideology of Républicanisme and its ideal of assimilation.

Intriguing indeed. By contrast, how would you describe our American academics? Their stance is exactly the opposite! Here is how I would put it:

With the exception of a few courageous souls, what still marks so many members of the American academic class is their overall commitment to the ideology of mandatory diversity and its ideal of racial/ethnic/gender identity.

You could make a good case that the 2 academic communities are polar opposites on this question, except in their intolerance of challenge to their attitude. Why? Perhaps the common thread is that both stances shield professors from being charged with elitism by their fellow countrymen, which may be a more shameful accusation in both academic communities.