The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America is a 2006 book by conservative American author and policy advocate David Horowitz. Contending that many academics in American colleges hold anti-American perspectives, Horowitz lists one hundred examples who he believes are sympathetic to terrorists and non-democratic governments.
Argument
Following the controversy over Ward Churchill's essay about the September 11 attacks, "On the Justice of Roosting Chickens," Horowitz argued that there were many "careers like Ward Churchill’s." He wrote that "Not all of the professors depicted in this volume hold views as extreme as Ward Churchill’s, but a disturbing number do" and "it would have been no problem to provide a thousand such profiles or even ten times the number." Horowitz uses quotes from the professors he names, and argues that two controversies involving former Harvard University President Lawrence Summers show that administrators refrain from challenging radicals. Horowitz devoted three pages to the defense of long-deceased Senator Joseph McCarthy, a defense that criticized Victor Navasky, the former longtime editor of The Nation and now professor of journalism at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Responses by persons mentioned
Horowitz accuses Eric Foner, former president of the American Historical Association, of being an "apologist for American Communism." Foner said, "Mr. Horowitz's 'chapter' on me is full of errors, beginning with the long quote with which he opens, which was written by someone else, not me. This is a fair example of the reliability of his work. But to get into a debate about Horowitz is a waste of time, and accords his attacks a legitimacy they do not deserve."
Horowitz wrongly attributed to Foner a statement by the late British author and journalist, Paul Foot. In the introduction to his book, Horowitz said the profiles were written by 30 researchers he had hired. He wrote: "I have revised and edited all of the profiles contained in this text and rewritten many ... I am ultimately responsible for their judgements and accuracy." On his blog, Horowitz admitted wrongly attributing material to Foner, blamed the error on the 30 researchers, and went on to say that the errors in his book are "inconsequential."
Horowitz accused Dana L. Cloud, associate professor of communication studies at the University of Texas at Austin, as an "anti-American radical" who "routinely repeats the propaganda of the Saddam regime." Along with the 99 other professors in his book, Horowitz accuses her of the "explicit introduction of political agendas into the classroom" (pp. 93, 377).
Cloud replied in Inside Higher Ed that her experience demonstrates that Horowitz does real damage to professors' lives—and that he should be viewed that way, not just as a political opponent.
Horowitz also alleged that professor Michael Bérubé's classes "often have little to do with literature," and that Bérubé believes "religious people were to be regarded as simply irrational."
Bérubé, who teaches at Penn State University and sits on the National Council of the American Association of University Professors, replied that Horowitz "knows nothing about my classroom demeanor or my record as a faculty member. If he were a college student and tried to get away with this garbage, he would indeed be flunked—not for his conservatism, but for his mendacity." Bérubé was also invited to comment at Horowitz's magazine, and Bérubé wrote a response to questions provided by Horowitz's assistant. Horowitz published only an excerpted version of his response, prompting accusations of dishonesty from Bérubé.
The sociologist Todd Gitlin, who was included in the book, wrote a scathing response claiming that "Horowitz has absolutely no idea what I do in the classroom" and that his "idea of research is cherry-picking". Gitlin also added that Horowitz' standards of danger do not include "Holocaust deniers, white supremacists, or advocates of torture".
Reviews
The review in the industry news digest Publishers Weekly stated that Horowitz's "intention to expose the majority of these professors as 'dangerous' and undeserving of their coveted positions seems petty in some cases, as when he smugly mocks the proliferation of departments dedicated to peace studies or considers 'anti-war activist' as a character flaw... the most egregious crimes perpetrated by the majority of these academics is that their politics don't mesh with Horowitz's."