Had to choose between citing a controversial author or getting my grade docked for 'offensive' sources

In my sociology class at State College last semester, the prof gave us an ultimatum after my research paper used Charles Murray's work - lose points for the citation or rewrite it without him. I kept the source and got a C-minus because the TA said it 'promoted harmful views.' Has anyone else faced being penalized for referencing an author the department doesn't approve of?

2 comments

2 Comments

elliot_miller221mo ago

Oh man, I've been there. I used a source from a pretty controversial economist in my poli sci paper and my professor gave me that look like I'd just insulted their whole field. I'm usually pretty good at picking fights I shouldn't, so I ended up getting a B- instead of an A because apparently citing someone who disagrees with the department's favorite theory is a mortal sin. Honestly, at this point I'm surprised they didn't make me write a formal apology letter to the academic gods. Have you had any luck arguing the academic freedom angle with your department head?

dakota_singh391mo ago

God, tell me about it, @elliot_miller22! You hit the nail on the head. It's like some professors have a secret list of acceptable opinions and if you stray even a little bit you're basically burning down the whole library. I actually did try the academic freedom thing once when I got called out for citing a non-mainstream source in a sociology class. My department head just gave me this tired sigh and said something about "upholding standards" which I'm pretty sure just means "don't rock the boat." I ended up having to rewrite half my paper with their approved authors (which felt super dishonest, honestly). It's frustrating because isn't the whole point of college to explore different ideas, even the unpopular ones? But I guess that's too much to ask when grades are on the line.