UT Austin inserts trigger warnings in business school syllabi
A syllabus recently proposed by UT Austin's McCombs School of Business is suggesting professors include paragraphs warning students about potentially 'traumatizing' content.
Professors are also encouraged to include land acknowledgements in their classroom syllabus.
University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) McCombs School of Business professors are now encouraged to warn students about potentially “traumatizing” content and to acknowledge Native American land in classroom syllabi.
Campus Reform obtained a copy of a syllabus template, recommended by Associate Dean for Undergraduate Program Ty Henderson.
The syllabus read:
“Our classroom provides an open space for the critical and civil exchange of ideas. Some readings and other content in this course will include topics that some students may find offensive and/or traumatizing. I’ll aim to forewarn students about potentially disturbing content and I ask all students to help to create an atmosphere of mutual respect and sensitivity.”
[RELATED: ‘University retaliated for anti-woke syllabus language, lawsuit claims’]
The proposed template also suggests that professors acknowledge “that [the class is] meeting on the Idigenous [sic] lands of Turtle Island, the ancestral name for what is now North America.”
Addressing the template, Richard Lowery, an Associate Professor of Finance at the McCombs School of Business, tweeted “[I]s this what you want to be paying for?”
Lowery then shared his own land acknowledgement, which he claims was used on his course syllabus last semester. The statement read:
“I fully accept the legitimacy of the government of the State of Texas, and its sovereignty over ll lands between the Rio Grand and the north bank of the Red River, along with all impoundments and crossings thereof.”
Lowerry specified in his Twitter bio that his opinions “almost certainly diametrically opposed to those of my employer.”
[RELATED: ‘Survey of 200+ sociology syllabi reveals liberal bias across assignments, readings’].
Campus Reform reached out to Dr. Lowery, UT Austin, and UT Austin McCombs School of Business. This article will be updated accordingly.
