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Degree

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, History (Arts and Sciences), 2007.

Abstract

In the early years of the Cold War, more than one hundred American academics lost their jobs because university administrators suspected them of Communist Party membership. How did intellectuals respond to this crisis? Referring to contemporary books, articles, organizational statements, and correspondence, I argue that disputes over academic freedom helped shatter a tenuous liberal consensus, unite conservatives, and challenge defenses of professorial liberty among academia’s largest professional organization, the American Association of University Professors. Specifically, I show how Sidney Hook and Arthur Schlesinger Jr.’s dispute over academic freedom was representative of larger quarrels among liberals over McCarthyism. Conversely, I demonstrate that conservatives such as William Buckley Jr. and Russell Kirk overcame serious differences on academic freedom to present a united front against liberalism, in and outside of the academy. Finally, I show the difficulty an organization such as the AAUP encounters when defending professional values in a democratic society.

Keywords

Academic Freedom; Arthur Schlesinger Jr.; Sidney Hook; William Buckley Jr.; Russell Kirk; American Association of University Professors; McCarthyism

Advisor

Kevin D. Mattson

Pages

108p.

Document number: ohiou1187214780
Permalink: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1187214780

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