WhenThe Professors was first published in February 2006, it was greeted by cries of outrage from the academic Left. The author was denounced as a reincarnation of Joseph McCarthy and his book as a “blacklist,” although no evidence existed to support either claim and both were the opposite of the truth.

Far from being a “blacklist,” the text explicitly—and in so many words—defended the right of professors to teach views that were unpopular without fear of political reprisal. The author also publicly defended the First Amendment rights of Ward Churchill, the most notable case of a professor under attack for his political views.

Critics of the university have long complained that the system of tenure, which provides lifetime job security, also serves to protect mediocrity and encourage incompetence. The efforts to politicize the curriculum over the last three decades have predictably created new opportunities for both tendencies to flourish. One factor contributing to the debasement of intellectual standards in the university is the politicized environment of the university itself. It is relatively easy for politically like-minded individuals to mistake adherence to partisan formulas for substantive thought and even intellectual achievement. 

Professor of archaeology and anthropology at Northwestern University - Elizabeth M. Brumfiel

Professor Elizabeth M. Brumfiel holds a prominent position at Northwestern University as a Professor of Archaeology and Anthropology. She has dedicated a quarter of a century to the field of teaching and imparting her knowledge to her students, during which she was associated with Albion College as a faculty member. There, she held a key position as the chair of the Anthropology and Sociology Department, contributing significantly to the growth and development of these disciplines. Currently, she serves as the president of the American Anthropological Association, which is recognized as the world's most extensive collective of anthropology scholars.

Earning her PhD from the University of Michigan, Professor Brumfiel explored various intriguing and complex themes such as the dynamics of gender, class, and factional politics in ancient Mexico. Moreover, she analyzed the changes in resource exploitation that were a consequence of Aztec expansion. She uses her extensive knowledge and research to teach a unique course on the "Archaeology of Inequality in America."

Throughout her academic career, she has been the recipient of numerous grants. These include grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation, and the H. John Heinz III Charitable Trust. Her outstanding contributions to the field have been acknowledged by her presenting the Distinguished Lecture in Archaeology for the Archaeology division of the American Anthropological Association and the David L. Clarke Memorial Lecture at the University of Cambridge in 1997. Despite having edited four books and publishing numerous scientific papers, Professor Brumfiel has yet to author her own book, an unusual characteristic for a full professor.

Professor Brumfiel is not just confined to academic realms; she has also played an active role in the annual conference of the Radical Archaeology Theory Seminar (RATS). This conference emphasizes the potential of archaeology to question and challenge pre-existing, accepted, and constructed assumptions about the past and present. An interesting point on their agenda states, "As radical archaeologists we should be committed to political action against class and gender oppression, racism and discrimination." Professor Brumfiel has been a featured speaker at this conference, further contributing to the discussions on social activism in archaeology, and connecting research interests with political struggles. In essence, the Radical Archaeology Theory views science as a tool to advance radical political agendas, creating a blurred line between scholarship and politics.

In 2004, Professor Brumfiel and the American Anthropological Association became actively involved in a labor conflict involving the Hilton Hotel in San Francisco and hotel union workers. The hotel was initially chosen to host the association's annual meeting. However, due to an ongoing lockout of unionized employees during a labor dispute, the Professor argued, “Anthropologists cannot, in all good conscience, meet in facilities whose owners are using the lockout of low-wage workers as a bargaining tactic.” Contrary to this, it's crucial to note that the management initiated the lockout after union workers had already stopped working and begun a picketing campaign. Also, the dispute was not about low wages but the duration of worker contracts. Displaying solidarity with the left-wing union, the association refused to cross the picket line and relocated their annual meeting to Atlanta.

Under Professor Brumfiel’s leadership, the Anthropological Association also decided against holding meetings in Louisiana due to the state's laws against sodomy. The association pledged to uphold this boycott until changes were made to these laws. Furthermore, the association has opposed the introduction of a Constitutional amendment that would define marriage as a union exclusively between opposite sexes. Any states that support this amendment risk being disqualified as potential venues for future American Anthropological Association meetings.

In 2004, one of the primary campaigns led by the American Anthropological Association under Professor Brumfiel's leadership was the public support of same-sex marriage. Their official statement was, “The results of more than a century of anthropological research on households, kinship relationships, and families, across cultures and through time, provide no support whatsoever for the view that either civilization or viable social orders depend upon marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution. Rather, anthropological research supports the conclusion that a vast array of family types, including families built upon same-sex partnerships, can contribute to stable and humane societies."

Brumfiel, being a self-conscious leftist working within the tradition of political Marxism, believes that blurring the distinction between scholarship and politics is not an issue. As president of the Association, she encourages her fellow anthropologists to use their academic platform as a medium to advocate against war.

Professor of criminal justice, Rochester Institute of Technology - Thomas Castellano