Teaching about Pornography and Free Speech

As someone who teaches a free speech course, I have been following closely the case of a tenured professor of sociology at Appalachian State University who showed a documentary about pornography in her class and, due to student complaints, has been suspended from teaching.  According to an article in Inside Higher Ed, there is a back story to the case--student athletes complaining about how the professor discussed athletics in a prior class, a claim by the professor that she is being punished for earlier criticisms of the university administration etc.  So, it is likely a complicated mix of issues and concerns. For more on the case see the coverage in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

But, it is the impact on what happens in the classroom--and the implications for all faculty--that I find the most compelling.  What is amazing to me is that she checked the video out of the university library, suggesting it is okay there but not in the classroom.  I guess we should be clear here.  She did not show pornography in class--but a documentary about the pornography industry called The Price of Pleasure.  

You can watch the trailer here. Be forewarned: As the site suggests, "This trailer contains scenes of sexual activity and aggression from pornographic videos."   I warn you, dear reader, in part because the professor in this case was supposedly suspended because she did not warn students about the content of this film and a few students went to the administration to complain.  Is my own hesitancy what chilled speech looks like?  Or am I just being responsible?  Good question to think about ....

So, really two issues for me: the potential silencing of faculty speech in the classroom by administrators (academic freedom) and the potential impact on faculty speech when students don't "like" what they hear in a class--prompting administrators to react.  The latter, and this may be a stretch, strikes me as an example of "student as consumer and the customer is always right" attitude that is seeping into higher education.  Since I am of the school that sometimes real learning comes from uncomfortable moments--when you disagree with someone, find something offensive and have to think about why, or are just confronted with a world-view that is unfamiliar.  As the Inside Higher Ed article about the case notes, "discussion of how professors present relevant but potentially objectionable course materials -- and how colleges respond when students complain."

Gail Dines, a scholar who has been very critical of the porn industry and was involved in the making of the film in question reacted to the case in an article in Counterpunch.  As Dines claims, the suspension can't be separated from the content of the film shown. "Price’s crime." writes Dines, "was to provide a progressive critique of the porn industry, rather than wax lyrically about how porn empowers women sexually."  And, as Dines also notes:

"I think we should be speaking about porn in the classroom, but not as a fun industry that sells fantasy, but rather as a global industry that works just like any other industry with business plans, niche markets, venture capitalists and the ever-increasing need to maximize profits."

Now I am not sure this is at issue in the case as much as Dines makes out, but she does raise an interesting question about the content of faculty speech in the classroom--and what happens when that content challenges those in power.  Isn't that what academic freedom is supposed to protect?