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Case File #27

Academic Feelings

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This case file has it all: history, religion, bad optics, and high-octane emotions. When an adjunct art history instructor at Hamline University showed an image of the prophet Mohammed in class, a Muslim student complained. Eventually, Hamline decided not to renew the instructor’s contract. The University president went on record siding with the student’s individual rights over academic freedom and later flip-flopped to say the University was looking at its policies. When news of the incident and aftermath broke to the broader public, it set off a nationwide backlash as academic freedom clashed head-on with individual sensitivities. On January 17, the instructor filed a lawsuit, claiming defamation and breach of contract. The Crisis Files’ go-to inclusion and equity expert Dr. Abdul Omari brings his content knowledge as well as his experience as an adjunct faculty member to dissect the complex layers of this PR debacle with host Roshini Rajkumar. A Case File you’ll want to share and discuss in your own world.

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