Public Letter to the Chronicle : Response to Trump Syllabus 1.0
Over the past year, scholars have curated a number of public syllabi and reading lists, most crowdsourced through social media, to provide historical context for understanding various contemporary events and phenomena. Many of these carefully thought-out efforts represent the best of academic public engagement, respect for scholarly diversity, and a commitment to social justice.
On every count, the “Trump Syllabus” (June 24, 2016), published as part of The Chronicle Review’s special issue on the “phenomenon that is Donald Trump’s presidential campaign,” does not. We, the undersigned, find the “Trump Syllabus” highly objectionable and call upon The Chronicle Review to make immediate revisions.
The syllabus fails to include the works of scholars of color, thereby perpetuating the message that the only works worth reading in American political history are those written by white scholars. In a syllabus that promises to offer “insights from history, literature, philosophy, political science, psychology, and beyond,” the authors have excluded seminal works in all of these fields written by scholars of color. It also centers the scholarship of (white) men and overlooks any work produced by LGBTQ people and other marginalized groups in the United States. The lack of diverse voices on this syllabus is not only inappropriate but also highly offensive. As the historian N.D.B. Connolly explains in the comments section, “this syllabus offers a disgraceful example of white methodological myopia.” Regardless of The Chronicle Review’s intent, the syllabus reinforces the same racist, sexist, and xenophobic messages articulated by Trump and many of his supporters.
The syllabus is also grossly inaccurate and incomprehensive in its avoidance of many central issues relating to the Trump campaign. A “Trump Syllabus” that fails to include works on sexism, racism, whiteness, immigration, xenophobia, Islamophobia, or nativism is not only intellectually dishonest but irresponsible. As educators, we have a duty and responsibility to present an accurate and nuanced portrayal of our history, and any attempt to explain the phenomenon of Trump’s campaign must take into account race, gender, and religion. Significantly, any discussion of Trump’s campaign must consider the voices and experiences of those most affected by Trump’s (divisive) rhetoric — namely, Latin@s, American Indians, women, Muslims, immigrants, and African-Americans. Avoiding these core voices, while emphasizing trivial issues such as “New York City in the era of Big Hair,” further serves to marginalize those who bear the brunt of criticism and disdain by Trump and his supporters. Integrating more diverse readings and perspectives would have significantly enhanced the syllabus by shedding light on key issues and historical developments, including white popular sovereignty, the racial contract, and “color-blind” racism.
Perhaps one of the most glaring omissions is the fact that the syllabus fails to acknowledge the intellectual genealogy on which it is based. So committed to presenting a “whites-only” portrayal of American political history, The Chronicle Review completely ignores the fact that it draws inspiration from several earlier initiatives led by scholars of color, including the #Fergusonsyllabus and the #Charlestonsyllabus. These efforts, rooted in urgent needs for racial awareness, utilize an interdisciplinary and inclusive approach to shed light on contemporary events — an approach sorely lacking here.
For all of these reasons, the “Trump Syllabus” should not have been published (as is) by The Chronicle Review. The editors’ decision to publish the syllabus without ensuring the inclusion of more diverse issues and voices only underscores their racial illiteracy. As Connolly so accurately explains in the comments section, “Intended or not, this document offers sad testimony to the ongoing segregation of American political history, and is far less an interrogation of racism than an artifact of racism itself.”
Signatures:
- N. D. B. Connolly, Johns Hopkins University
- Keisha N. Blain, University of Iowa
- Chad Williams, Brandeis University
- Stephen G. Hall, Alcorn State University
- Leah Wright, Harvard University
- David J. Leonard, Washington State University
- Walter D. Greason, Monmouth University
- Brandon R. Byrd, Vanderbilt University
- Kidada Williams, Wayne State University
- Andrea R. Roberts, University of Texas at Austin
- Hollis Robbins, Johns Hopkins University
- María Elena Cepeda, Williams College
- Adriana Estill, Carleton College
- Marla L. Jaksch, The College of New Jersey
- Sharon Block, University of California, Irvine
- Miranda Goulden, writer and editor, Milford. NH
- Julie Sze, University of California at Davis
- Phaedra C. Pezzullo, University of Colorado Boulder
- Bernadette Marie Calafell, University of Denver
- EJ Nielsen, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Mary Stuckey, Georgia State University
- Caren Kaplan, University of California at Davis
- Susana Loza, Hampshire College
- Kenja McCray, Atlanta Metropolitan State College
- Jay Driskell, DC African American Studies Seminar
- Rita Shah, Elizabethtown College
- Curtis Marez, University of California, San Diego
- Daniel Gutiérrez, Free University of Berlin
- Jennifer Fronc, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Luz Calvo, Cal State East Bay
- Kirsten Silva Gruesz, University of California, Santa Cruz
- Craig Dietrich, Digital Humanities at the Claremont Colleges
- Alexis Lothian, University of Maryland College Park
- William Orchard, Queens College/ CUNY
- Anne Cong-Huyen, Whittier College
- Mike Garabedian, Whittier College
- Cynthia A. Young, The Pennsylvania State University
- David Delgado Shorter, University of California Los Angeles
- Richard W. Morrison, Editorial Director, Fordham University Press
- Daniel Olmos, California State University at Channel Islands
- Shawn Leigh Alexander, University of Kansas
- Bryan Wagner, University of California, Berkeley
- Roderick A. Ferguson, University of Illinois, Chicago
- Adam Miyashiro, Stockton University
- Ernesto Chávez, University of Texas, El Paso
- Niels Hooper, Executive Editor, University of California Press
- Alex Lubin, University of New Mexico
- Dorothy Kim, Vassar College
- Susan McHugh, University of New England
- Rebecca Hill, Kennesaw State University
- Edmond Y. Chang, University of Oregon
- Victor Mendoza, University of Michigan
- Aimee Bahng, Dartmouth College
- Dot Porter, University of Pennsylvania Libraries
- Christina Sharpe, Tufts University
- Jordan E. Miller, Salve Regina University
- Andrew Cornell, Williams College
- Lisa A. Flores, University of Colorado, Boulder
- Kadin Henningsen, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Pedro Castillo, University of California, Santa Cruz
- Gemmicka Piper, University of Iowa
- Miroslava Chavez-Garcia, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Matthew N. Noe, University of Massachusetts Medical School
- Kim Knight, The University of Texas at Dallas
- Karina A. Vado, The University of Florida
- Amanda Armstrong, University of Michigan
- T. Ewing, Tennessee State University
- Karen Anderson, professor emeritus, University of Arizona
- Jeff Helgeson, Texas State University
- Michele Grigsby Coffey, University of Memphis
- Celeste Day Moore, Hamilton College
- Kahlil Chaar-Pérez, University of Pittsburgh
- Le’Trice Donaldson, York College -CUNY
- Ibrahim Sundiata, Emeritus, Brandeis University
- Kabria Baumgartner, The College of Wooster
- Tiffany Willoughby-Herard, UC Irvine
- Elaine Lewinnek, California State University at Fullerton
- Monica Mercado, Bryn Mawr College
- Brent Cebul, University of Richmond
- Leslie A. Schwalm, University of Iowa
- Aleia Brown, Michigan State University Museum
- Paul C. Hébert, Independent scholar
- Paige Glotzer, Harvard University
- Peter Cole, Western Illinois University
- Carolyn Herbst Lewis Grinnell College
- Melissa Borja, College of Staten Island, City University of New York
- Susana Loza, Hampshire College
- Laura Warren Hill, Bloomfield College
- Dan Berger, University of Washington Bothell
- Tom Humphrey, Cleveland State University
- John Mckiernan-Gonzalez, Texas State University
- Ed Baptist, Cornell University
- Ayah Nuriddin, Johns Hopkins University
- Michael Innis-Jimenez, University of Alabama
- Ibram X. Kendi, University of Florida
- Kimberly J. Chandler, Xavier University of Louisiana
- Lori Flores, Stony Brook University (SUNY)
- Manuel Herrero-Puertas, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Amira Rose Davis, Johns Hopkins University
- Shannon King, College of Wooster
- Edward Carson, Independent Scholar
- Neil Roberts, Williams College
- Sherie Randolph, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Neil J. Young, Independent Scholar
- Arica L. Coleman Independent Scholar
- Dana-Ain Davis Queens College, CUNY
- Keyanah Freeland, New York University
- Lauren Araiza, Denison University
- Sarah Hansen, California State University Northridge
- Margaret O’Mara, University of Washington
- Benjamin C. Waterhouse, University of North Carolina
- Adrian Burgos, Jr., University of Illinois
- Kim F. Hall, Barnard College/Columbia University
- Raj Chetty, St. John’s University, Queens
- Jenifer Barclay, Washington State University
- Kevin Boland Johnson, Grambling State University
- Crystal Hayes, University of Connecticut
- Adam Biggs, Univ of South Carolina Lancaster
- Michael McKoy, Wheaton College
- Betsy A. Beasley, Harvard University
- Keri Leigh Merritt, Independent Scholar
- Darrel Wanzer-Serrano, University of Iowa
- Catherine Denial, Knox College
- Melissa N. Shaw, Queen’s University
- Deirdre Cooper Owens, Queens College, CUNY
- Charles McKinney, Rhodes College
- Judith Weisenfeld, Princeton University
- Andrew Pope, Harvard University
- Elizabeth Todd-Breland, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Ashley Farmer, Duke University
- Lawrence Brown, Morgan State University
- Elizabeth James, University of Michigan.
- Hilary Green, University of Alabama
- Mark Padoongpatt, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- David Stein, Graduate Center, City University of New York
- Suzanne Smith, George Mason University
- Rob Widell, University of Rhode Island
- Ansley Erickson, Teachers College – Columbia University
- Delia Fernandez, Michigan State University
- Kellie Carter Jackson, Hunter College, CUNY
- Trimiko Melancon, Loyola University
- Charles L.Hughes, Rhodes College
- Eric Allen Hall, Georgia Southern University
- Jacqueline Wernimont, Arizona State University
- Alexandra Minna Stern, University of Michigan
- Roopika Risam, Salem State University
- Maria E. Montoya, New York University
- Amanda Phillips, University of California, Davis
- Anita Tijerina Revilla, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- Brian Eugenio Herrera, Princeton University
- Carlos E. Santos, Arizona State University
- Christienna D. Fryar, SUNY Buffalo State
- Alex Gil, Columbia University
- Cristalís Capielo, Arizona State University
- Aimée Morrison, University of Waterloo
- Annemarie Perez, California State University Dominguez Hills
- Shelley Streeby, University of California, San Diego
- Sharif Youssef, Amherst College
- Laura Isabel Serna, University of Southern California
- Patti Poblete, Iowa State University
- Jessica Rajko, Arizona State University
- Sandrine Emmanuelle Catris, Augusta University
- Eric Smoodin, University of California, Davis
- Ambereen Dadabhoy, Harvey Mudd College
- Joseph Ruanto-Ramirez, Claremont Graduate University
- Mason Williams, Albright College
- Diana Williams, University of Southern California
- Eric S. Yellin, University of Richmond
- Jessie Wilkerson, University of Mississippi
- Mo Speller, Johns Hopkins University
- Flor Olivo, University of Utah, Salt Lake City
- Tabitha Chester, Denison University
- Richard Anderson, Princeton University
- Jeanne Theoharis, Brooklyn College of CUNY
- Bethany Moreton, Dartmouth College
- Pamela Voekel, Dartmouth College
- Cynthia Wu, University at Buffalo (SUNY)
- Nicole Hemmer, Miller Center, University of Virginia
- Maria Cotera, University of Michigan
- Jacinda Townsend, University of California, Davis
- Morgan Shahan, Johns Hopkins University
- Anastasia C. Curwood, University of Kentucky
- Michael Gill, Syracuse University
- Samuel Kelton Roberts, Jr., Columbia University
- Ruha Benjamin, Princeton University
- Brian Goldstein, University of New Mexico
- Fiona Barnett, Duke University
- Matthew K. Gold, City University of New York
- Michelle Brown, University of Tennessee
- James Dator, Goucher College
- Ariela Gross, University of Southern California
- Guian McKee, Miller Center, University of Virginia
- Skyler Gordon, Independent Scholar
- Justin M. De Senso, Penn State Berks
- Kali Nicole Gross, Wesleyan University
- Patricia Satterstrom, New York University LP
- Briana Asmus, Western Michigan University
- Carina Ray, Brandeis University
- Lois Rita Helmbold, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (retired)
- Fred Lee, University of Connecticut, Storrs
- Kevin Gannon, Grand View University
- Cecilia Márquez, New York University
- Anita Chikkatur, Carleton College
- Stacey Patton, Morgan State University (former Chronicle reporter)
- Christina V. Cedillo, University of Houston-Clear Lake
- Danielle L. McGuire, Wayne State University
- Francoise Hamlin, Brown University
- Crystal M. Moten, Macalester College
- Deborah Menkart, Teaching for Change
- Minkah Makalani, University of Texas at Austin
- Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, University of Washington at Seattle
- Michael Glass, Princeton University
- Bernice Olivas, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Julian Hayter, University of Richmond
- Tamara Lea Spira, Western Washington University
- Grace Kyungwon Hong, UCLA
- Nancy Small, Texas A&M at Qatar
- David Shih, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
- Rebecca Anne Goetz, New York University
- Christal Seahorn, University of Houston-Clear Lake
- Jonathan Dresner, Pittsburg State University, Kansas
- Brian Crie, University of California, San Diego
- Jonathan Hsy, George Washington University
- Ben Schiller, Teesside University
- Minh-Ha T. Pham, Pratt Institute
- M. Melissa Elston, Northwest Missouri State University
- Yari Perez Marin, Durham University
- Stephanie Smallwood, University of Washington
- Tony Platt, University of California, Berkeley
- Michaela Walsh, Bowling Green State
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Rebecca L. Davis, University of Delaware
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Ellen Samuels, University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Rick Ayers, Teacher Education, University of San Francisco
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Jessica Levy, Johns Hopkins University
- Crystal Feimster, Yale university
- Ebony Jones, New York University & Carter G. Woodson Institute
- Marcia Chatelain, Georgetown University
- Akinyele Umoja, Georgia State University
- Michael Todd Landis, Tarleton State University
- Danielle Olden, University of Utah
- Tim Lacy, Independent Scholar
- Christopher M. Geissler, University of Calgary
- Prithi Kanakamedala, Bronx Community College CUNY
- Lilian Calles Barger, Independent Scholar
- Timothy J. Lombardo, University of South Alabama
- Kennetta Hammond Perry, East Carolina University
- Ben Railton, Fitchburg State University
- Jeannette Estruth, New York University
- Joseph M. Adelman, Framingham State University
- Michael Dean Benton, Bluegrass Community and Technical College
- Bergis Jules, University of California, Riverside Library
- Toussaint Losier, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
- Matthew Delmont, Arizona State University
- Jillian Martin, University of Georgia
- Alex Sayf Cummings, Georgia State University
- Tim Gloege, Independent Scholar
- Jesse Carr, University of Michigan
- Monica Greene, Arizona State University
- Saadia Toor, College of Staten Island, City University of New York
- Ari Kelman, UC Davis
- Danielle Olden, University of Utah
- Jeannette Estruth, New York University
- Julia Guarneri, University of Cambridge
- Nate Holdren, Drake University
- Kevin M. Kruse, Princeton University
- Sam Klug, Harvard University
- Eric Rauchway, University of California, Davis
- Elizabeth Lorang, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Theresa Tiso, Stony Brook University
- Rachel Louise Moran, University of North Texas
- Lisa Levenstein, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
- Michelle Moyd, Indiana University — Bloomington
- Robert Corber, Trinity College
- Tennille Allen, Lewis University
- Joshua Crutchfield, Middle Tennessee State University
- Heath W. Carter, Valparaiso University
- Joan McCarty, Spelman College
- Derrick P. Alridge, University of Virginia
- Malea Powell, Michigan State University
- David Austin Walsh, Princeton University
- Aaron M Bornstein, Princeton University
- Ami Sommariva, University of California, Davis
- Suzanna M. Crage, Simon Fraser University
- Karsonya Wise Whitehead, Loyola University Maryland
- Tiffany Florvil, University of New Mexico
- John Munro, Saint Mary’s University
- LaDale Winling, Virginia Tech
- Lauren Berlant, University of Chicago
- Jean O’Brien, University of Minnesota
- Sharla Fett, Occidental College
- Leigh Fought, Le Moyne College
- Nishani Frazier, Miami University of Ohio
- Robert Bland, University of Pittsburgh
- Kendra G Hotz, Rhodes College
- Josh Davis, University of Baltimore
- Tiffany M. Gill, University of Delaware
- Dan Bouk, Colgate University
- Jessica Millward, UC Irvine
- Alexandra Puerto, Occidental College
- Robert Vitalis, University of Pennsylvania
- Maddy McCoy, Independent Scholar
- Megan McIntyre, Dartmouth College
- Clarence Lusane, Howard University
- Debora Kodish, Independent Folklorist
- Wanda Little Fenimore, USC Sumter
- Ella Dali Raynor, University of Central Florida
- M.B.Varville-Rodriguez, Author
- Tassie Gniady, Indiana University
- Raul Pacheco-Vega, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE)
- Michael Johnson Jr., University of Passau
- William G. Rogers, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
- Whitney Myers, Independent Scholar
- James Sheldon, University of Arizona
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Linda Charnes, Indiana University, Bloomington
- Jessica Marie Johnson, Michigan State University
- Karla FC Holloway, Duke University
- R. E. Dubrofsky, University of South Florida
- Kathleen Livingston, Michigan State University
- Raymond Sean Walters, Independent Scholar
- P. Gabrielle Foreman, University of Delaware
- Christopher Cameron, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
- Rasul A. Mowatt, Indiana University
- Krista Benson, The Ohio State University
- Karen Kelsky, Academic Career Consultant
- Mohan Dutta, National University of Singapore/Purdue University
- Heather Sinclair, University of Texas at El Paso
- Kristen Epps, University of Central Arkansas
- Mariola Espinosa, University of Iowa
- Oscar Winberg, Åbo Akademi University
- Philip Klinkner, Hamilton College
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Briana Adline Royster, New York University
- Leah Gordon, Stanford University
- Michelle Y. Gordon, Emory University
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Aaron Byungjoo Bae, Arizona State University
-
Virginia Spatz, We Act Radio’s Education Town Hall
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Peter Odell Campbell, University of Pittsburgh
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Cheryl Koos, California State University, Los Angeles
- Dwana Waugh, North Carolina A&T State University
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C. D. Bhimull, Colby College
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Robert Gutsche, Jr., Florida International University
- Christopher Churchill, Alfred University
- Melissa Estes Blair, Auburn University
- Thaisa Way, University of Washington
- David Bondelevitch, University of Colorado Denver
- April Merleaux, Florida International University
- Jason M. Williams, Montclair State University
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Kimberly Phillips-Fein, New York University
- Robin Phelps-Ward, Clemson University
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Katherine E. Browne, Colorado State University