When colleges think Plato is too gay | The Gray Area

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Who gets to decide what’s taught in college classrooms? And should the answer be different at private colleges than at public universities? Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO In today’s episode, guest host Avishay Artsy speaks to philosophy professor Martin Peterson about why Texas A&M University asked him to stop teaching part of Plato’s “Symposium.” The two discuss academic freedom, who gets to decide what’s taught in university classrooms, and the value of Plato’s writing. The episode explores what happens when politics and educational values collide on campus. Host: Avishay Artsy, Vox Supervising Producer Guest: Martin Peterson, Professor of Philosophy at Texas A&M University 00:00 Intro 01:21 Why Professor Peterson was asked to revise his syllabus 03:02 Why Plato’s Symposium still matters 05:39 What do students expect to read in this class? 06:01 Texas A&M’s new policy 09:46 How professors responded 19:52 How students responded 22:25 Why is Professor Peterson resigning? 30:06 How Professor Peterson's research connects to his decisions We would love to hear from you. To tell us what you thought of this episode, email us at thegrayarea@vox.com or leave us a voicemail at 1-800-214-5749. Your comments and questions help us make a better show. And you can watch new episodes of The Gray Area on YouTube. Listen to The Gray Area ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com. Watch our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE Follow Vox on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o Or Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H