“Field” Is Now A Forbidden Word! Rhetorician Erec Smith On How To Make Everything Racist

Erec Smith is an Associate Professor of Rhetoric at York College of Pennsylvania and a prominent voice in the effort to bring greater nuance to conversations about anti-racism and identity movements. Erec was on The Unspeakable back in July of 2021 talking about Critical Race Theory, specifically what it means and where it began. Now he’s back for a more free-ranging conversation about the state of racial discussions on campuses, in the workplace and in the culture more broadly. In this episode, he and Meghan discuss the Elimination of Harmful Language initiative released by Stanford last month, which classified words such as “brave” and “guru” as problematic. Erec offers practical advice about how to respond when Critical Race Theory or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion protocols are introduced into your school or workplace; for instance how to distinguish positive and useful implementations of CRT and DEI from counterproductive ones, what questions to ask, who to ask, and how to ask those questions in a non-threatening way. He talks about the concept of a “kairotic moment,” why, as a black academic, he’s become (in his words) a pariah in his field, and why he thinks contemporary anti-racism efforts have a hand in keeping racism alive. 

 

This episode offers bonus content! Erec sticks around for some extra conversation that’s available to paying subscribers at https://meghandaum.substack.com. Here, Meghan asks how Erec feels about his life circumstances at this moment–not just professionally but personally. Erec talks about the price he’s paid for not toeing the party line, what it’s like to live in a rural area as an unmarried middle aged person, and the loneliness of being out of ideological step with your peers and neighbors.

 

Guest Bio:

Erec Smith is an Associate Professor of Rhetoric at York College of Pennsylvania. Although he has eclectic scholarly interests, Smith’s primary focuses on the rhetorics of anti-racist activism, theory, and pedagogy. He is a co-founder of Free Black Thought, a website dedicated to highlighting viewpoint diversity within the black intelligentsia. Smith is a Writing Fellow for Heterodox Academy, a Senior Fellow for the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism and an advisor for Counterweight, an organization that advocates for classical liberal concepts of social justice.