Davis professors rebuff UC president’s call for ‘viewpoint-neutral’ Middle East history lessons

UC Davis history professor Baki Tezcan knows firsthand how an authoritative government’s iron fist can stifle academic freedom — he was detained and accused of spreading terrorist propaganda in Turkey after signing a petition during a research trip saying the country’s army massacred Kurdish residents.

Drawing upon these experiences, Tezcan said alarm bells sounded when University of California President Michael Drake spoke at a Nov. 15 UC Regents meeting promising $2 million to teach faculty about antisemitism, Islamophobia, how to recognize and combat extremism and a “viewpoint-neutral history of the Middle East.” Drake issued his comments to address campus safety after violent acts and doxxing incidents unfolded on campuses in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war that broke out in early October.

The UC system hasn’t become like Turkey, Tezcan said, but Drake’s words raised red flags, prompting the professor to strongly push back against the comments.

Tezcan, who was acquitted in Turkish court, and 17 other UC Davis professors signed a Nov. 20 letter raising concern about Drake’s desire to teach “viewpoint-neutral history” and called for him to rescind such language. UC Davis educators — who spoke out recently regarding their decision to sign the letter — along with more than 150 UC faculty said Drake’s comments undermine faculty’s autonomy in the classroom and undercuts their internationally renowned work.

“I welcome more resources from the UC system to do our job, but what I reject is any kind of external political or administrative influence on the professional choices I make in the classroom,” Keith David Watenpaugh, a tenured professor of human rights and historian, wrote in an email to The Sacramento Bee.

Drake’s office issued a clarification on Nov. 30 about his Nov. 15 comments, saying the UC system of 10 campuses remains deeply committed to “shared governance and academic freedom of faculty.” His office is working with campuses to pinpoint how funds should be distributed, the statement said.

“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,” the statement said.

Multiple UC Davis historians said they already present multiple perspectives for students and help them navigate each conflicting sources.

“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,” the letter said.

Without contextualizing events, history would simply be teaching students a timeline, said Stacy Fahrenthold, an associate professor of history, who has tenure.

The impact of Drake’s comments trickled down into the classroom.

Fahrenthold recalled her students hearing of Drake’s comments in November. She said she told them it’s unrealistic to have a neutral viewpoint of the Middle East. A “viewpoint-neutral” approach suggests a historian’s job isn’t to teach or interpret the region, but to avoid doing the work of interpretation or understanding, she said.

Fahrenthold said she has an ethical duty to contextualize, explain and help students understand history without fearing reprisal from her employer. Many faculty, such as lecturers and adjunct instructors, aren’t afforded the similar protections offered to tenure faculty.

“It frustrated me deeply,” Fahrenthold added.

The letter also said adopting policies espousing a “viewpoint neutral” history have been used against scholars whose research may be at odds with a particular political agenda across the country.

“We remind you that in Florida, the administration of Governor Ron DeSantis has undermined discussions of structural racism by calling for ‘opposing viewpoints’ on the enslavement of African Americans,” the letter said.

UC Davis art history professor Heghnar Watenpaugh, who is married to Keith Watenpaugh and who also has tenure, questioned Drake’s plan to fund an alternative pedagogy. She wondered who will control the programming and if senate faculty members will be consulted on the alternative policies.

“Will this programming be peer-reviewed and vetted for academic standards in the way UC faculty research and publication are vetted?” Heghnar Watenpaugh asked rhetorically in her emailed responses to questions.

UC Davis history professors pointed out there have been retirements in the history department that would teach the very content to which Drake seeks to devote $2 million and haven’t yet been replaced. That money should instead be reinvested in faculty, educators said.

Programs offering study abroad opportunities for students have also been cut in recent years, Heghnar Watenpaugh said. Funneling money into those measures would ensure students are exposed to many viewpoints and be trained in historical methods to find and evaluate evidence, she said.

Fahrenthold said it appeared Drake didn’t understand the discipline of history with his comments.

“What I also wonder is why is only Middle East History being singled out among the many different topics we teach for this new confusing standard? What’s next: viewpoint-neutral American History?” Keith Wahtenpaugh wrote. “I teach the history of genocide and the Holocaust, how would viewpoint neutrality work in that context?”