On this AEI Events Podcast, Amy Wax of the University of Pennsylvania Law School joins AEI to discuss the state of debate and disagreement in academia today, reflecting on the value of reasoned dialogue and civil debate.

Illiberalism is ascendant in academia. Reasoned dialogue and civil debate, once considered the essence of university life, are giving way to ad hominem mudslinging and appeals to emotion.

Amy Wax of the University of Pennsylvania Law School experienced this after coauthoring an op-ed arguing that the decline of bourgeois norms has wreaked cultural havoc. Statements, letters, and petitions poured forth accusing her of racism, sexism, and every genre of bigotry imaginable. Additionally, 33 of her colleagues signed a letter denouncing — but not debating, or even engaging with — her article and “categorically reject[ing] all her claims.”

Watch the full event here.

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This event features an introduction from AEI’s Sally Satel (0:41) followed by a lecture from Amy Wax from Univerisity of Pennsylvania’s Law School (4:41). Audience Q&A follows Wax’s lecture (31:00).

This event took place on February 20, 2018