Poor Larry Summers is still being flogged over in Cambridge – now by the faculty which met in full liberal outrage mode Tuesday – for suggesting that the genders might be different enough so that gender differences should not be unthinkable in polite academic inquiry. The Boston Globe, NY Times, and Harvard Crimson all have stories. My favorite is the Globe’s for the great quotes. Summers’ chief accuser is the “chairman” of the anthropology department (Get with it, Boston Globe! Such are always referred to as chairs now, or even "wing chairs"). This chair is not a soft one and is quoted in a statement worthy of Vyshinsky:
“…you need to release the full transcript of your talk so we can understand just what you think and how broad your biases are.”
And this from Ruth Wisse, professor of Yiddish lit:
“..the closest thing to a Soviet show trial that we are likely to see in our lifetimes.”
We shall see. Another session of the Cambridge Inquisition is scheduled for next week.
Article comments
1 - Angela Chen Shui
Thanks, Harry. Look forward to hearing more of the next session.