In the world of academia, there is likely no more controversial figure than American professor Ward Churchill. Depending on whom you listen to, he is either a dedicated scholar speaking truth to those in power and being persecuted for his activism, or a fraud who has spent decades fabricating research and lying to the public.
But even though the university he has taught at for the past 15 years is in the process of dismissing him on grounds of academic misconduct, hundreds of supporters were on hand this Saturday to hear Churchill’s radical views at New College’s Conference on Racism and National Consciousness.
In a two-hour address that veered off on many tangents, Churchill, a professor of ethnic studies at at University of Colorado at Boulder, railed against everything from his own critics to Canadian policy towards natives, to contemporary North American society, which he likened to “a plastic dome they place over your head.”
He told his audience that Western society is characterized by “abject ignorance” and condemned those who turn a blind eye to the crimes committed by government, which he said include genocide against indigenous peoples and the murder of Middle Eastern Muslims.
“The most dangerous act that can be undertaken in this society is critical thinking, no matter how much people talk about terrorism,” he said.
Churchill also repeated inflammatory remarks first made in an essay published shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In it he claimed the attacks were a justified response to American foreign policy, and that the victims were complicit in violent American actions overseas and therefore were not innocent. Referring to one of the architects of the Nazi genocide, he called those who died “little [Adolf] Eichmanns,” which drew international attention and outrage.
At New College Churchill defended his choice of words. “I don’t call anybody anything,” he said. “I put the term out there with the definition, and if the shoe fits, well…”
An investigation by the administration of CU-Boulder has determined that although his statements on 9/11 were protected by free speech legislation, he had committed five counts of misconduct, including plagiarism, in earlier work on American history. In June the chancellor of the university officially issued a statement of intent to fire Churchill, despite the tenure he holds.
But on Saturday Churchill, who has appealed his dismissal, said that efforts to fire him amount to persecution. He pointed to the case of Allen Weinstein, a historian who despite being accused of plagiarism was appointed the U.S. national archivist in 2005. Churchill said that Weinstein has escaped punishment by the academic establishment because he holds right-wing views.
“I’m an academic fraud, and these [conservative] guys get promoted,” Churchill joked.
For all his rhetoric about critical thinking, however, Churchill was loath to entertain alternative viewpoints on Saturday. When The Varsity asked about his support for the 9/11 hijackers, he responded angrily by repeatedly demanding “How do you respond to people killing your children?”, a reference to the 500,000 Iraqi children believed to have died under U.S.-led sanctions during the 90s.
