S5 E25 | Viewpoint Diversity Adversity: The Conundrum Between Balance and Obscurity

This week Elizabeth is joined by Mark Horowitz. We discuss two very different articles about viewpoint diversity. In one (unpublished) paper the authors examined thousands of college course syllabi for evidence that diverse perspectives were being introduced. In all 3 areas of focus (racism in the criminal justice system, the Israel-Palestine conflict, and the ethics of abortion), faculty overwhelmingly assigned works representing a single perspective. There was very little evidence that students were formally introduced to books or articles identified as well known with respected alternative views. Based on our personal experiences in academia, we were more surprised about the magnitude of the effects than the general findings. While we could find little to criticize about the first article, we were less enamored with the second, which argues against viewpoint diversity. The author's focus is more political than scientific, and her examples are primarily extreme, unrelated to traditional academic goals, and may reveal more about her bias against Heterodox Academy than the futility of viewpoint diversity. She rightly argues that hiring individuals solely because they have unusual views would likely do little to advance science, but we find little else to admire about her narrow arguments and examples.  Mark shares his own research findings regarding groupthink in academia, the benefits of viewpoint diversity, and briefly describes the rewards and challenges of incorporating controversial topics and perspectives in the classroom.  

Podcast notes

The (unpublished) Shields, et al. syllabus working paper can be found here: https://roseinstitute.cmc.edu/academic/faculty/profile/jon-shields 

The authors were interviewed by the Chronicle of Higher Education here: https://www.chronicle.com/article/these-scholarly-topics-are-hotly-debated-so-why-dont-syllabi-reflect-that and the paper was referenced in this New York Times editorial here:  https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/opinion/conservative-professors-viewpoint-diversity.html

The Siraganian op-ed for the American Association of University Professors Academe Magazine, which argues against viewpoint diversity, can be found here: Seven Theses Against Viewpoint Diversity | AAUP

Other episodes with contributor Mark Horowitz: 

Top of the Class: Teachers with Lenient Grading get Higher Ratings: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s5-e6-top-of-the-class-attractive-teachers/id1537516628?i=1000699222059

Contrarians at the Gate: Publishing Controversial Topics in an Era of Academic Progressivism: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s4-e26-contrarians-at-the-gate-publishing/id1537516628?i=1000668944697

Making Up the Grade: A Call for Educators to Openly Address Eroding Standards: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s4-e19-making-up-the-grade-a-call-for-educators/id1537516628?i=1000661206148