Cambridge University has rescinded its offer of a visiting fellowship to controversial academic Jordan Peterson, who refuses to refer to transgender people by their chosen pronouns, after an outcry from faculty and students.
The Canadian psychologist, who has hundreds of thousands of fans, styles himself as the “professor against political correctness”, and has argued for enforced monogamy, and pushed the view that men are victims of gender discrimination.
He has also said that the idea of white privilege is a “Marxist lie.”
The professor first came to fame in 2016 because he opposed an anti-discrimination bill that meant he had to use the preferred pronouns of his students and colleagues. He said that the law infringed on his free speech, refusing to use any other pronoun than “he” or “she”. Students protested across the university’s campus and caused a media storm in Canada and the US.
He was due to take part in a two-month academic fellowship at the Faculty of Divinity, planning to run around ten public lectures on the Bible, which would be a continuation of his work at the University of Toronto.
Academics and the student union publicly protested his appointment, with lecturer PriyamvadaGopal sarcastically tweeting: ” Jordan Peterson to be my colleague later this year? So EXCITED. So much to learn, so much wisdom to glean. Well done, Cambridge, no better way to signal our commitment to diversity and decolonization.”
Hours later, the university U-turned, writing in a statement: “We can confirm that Jordan Peterson requested a visiting fellowship, and an initial offer has been rescinded after a further review.”
Cambridge Student Union said in a statement to student paper Varsity: “We are relieved to hear that Jordan Peterson’s request for a visiting fellowship to Cambridge’s Faculty of Divinity has been rescinded following further review. It is a political act to associate the University with an academic’s work through offers which legitimize figures such as Peterson.
“His work and views are not representative of the student body and as such we do not see his visit as a valuable contribution to the University, but one that works in opposition to the principles of the University.”
“I heard about the rescinded offer through the grapevine, via a colleague and friend, and gathered what I could about the reasons from social media and press coverage.
“I think the Faculty of Divinity made a serious error of judgment in rescinding their offer to me (and I’m speaking about those unnamed persons who made that specific decision). I think they handled publicizing the rescindment in a manner that could hardly have been more narcissistic, self-congratulatory and devious.
“I believe that the parties in question don’t give a damn about the perilous decline of Christianity, and I presume in any case that they regard that faith, in their propaganda-addled souls, as the ultimate manifestation of the oppressive Western patriarchy, despite their hypothetical allegiance to their own discipline.”