After government inspectors identified ideological weakness among faculty, seven Chinese universities have established departments to review and oversee how to reinforce the ideological focus that has been a part of education in China.
To pretend that Western universities don't have an ideological center trivializes what faculty and staff seek to accomplish. Western views related to freedom of thought, critical inquiry, challenging authority, and progressivism are some of the most prominent ideological perspectives that conservatives in Western countries fear. The reality that these ideas are present and advocated is clear and the question that has to be raised is what do these ideologies have to do with the life of the mind? Research and theorizing on the impact of university education indicates that progressive values are absorbed to varying degrees by students who attend Western institutions. Some researchers even bemoan the fact that the impact is not greater which is a clear statement of intent. A large proportion of faculty and staff in Western institutions would embrace freedom of thought and critical inquiry as essential to higher education outcomes and this is exactly what is being targeted in China.
Four years ago Chinese universities were told to avoid topics such as universal values, press freedom, and civil rights. Now there are mechanisms to evaluate whether or not these topics have been eradicated and if the values of Marxism are being supported. The question looming in the background is if the ideological press of Marxism in China can be construed and cultivated in ways that are consistent with the values that most Western universities have found central to the qualities of advanced learning.
The most frightening aspect of commitment to ideologically control academic messages is that some Chinese students have turned to 'snitching' on professors who dare to counter the orthodoxy of the Party.
To pretend that Western universities don't have an ideological center trivializes what faculty and staff seek to accomplish. Western views related to freedom of thought, critical inquiry, challenging authority, and progressivism are some of the most prominent ideological perspectives that conservatives in Western countries fear. The reality that these ideas are present and advocated is clear and the question that has to be raised is what do these ideologies have to do with the life of the mind? Research and theorizing on the impact of university education indicates that progressive values are absorbed to varying degrees by students who attend Western institutions. Some researchers even bemoan the fact that the impact is not greater which is a clear statement of intent. A large proportion of faculty and staff in Western institutions would embrace freedom of thought and critical inquiry as essential to higher education outcomes and this is exactly what is being targeted in China.
Four years ago Chinese universities were told to avoid topics such as universal values, press freedom, and civil rights. Now there are mechanisms to evaluate whether or not these topics have been eradicated and if the values of Marxism are being supported. The question looming in the background is if the ideological press of Marxism in China can be construed and cultivated in ways that are consistent with the values that most Western universities have found central to the qualities of advanced learning.
The most frightening aspect of commitment to ideologically control academic messages is that some Chinese students have turned to 'snitching' on professors who dare to counter the orthodoxy of the Party.
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