Over the weekend physicist Lawrence Krauss wrote in the Wall Street Journal about how wokism and other postmodern fads have infiltrated STEM fields, as though the famous Sokal hoax was a how-to manual:
[P]ostmodern cultural theory is being infused into the very institutions one might expect to be scientific gatekeepers. Hard-science journals publish the same sort of bunk with no hint of irony. . .
He notes a course on “Afro-Chemistry” at Rice University. Here’s the full description:
CHEM 125 – AFROCHEMISTRY
Long Title: AFROCHEMISTRY: THE STUDY OF BLACK-LIFE MATTER
Department: Chemistry
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Language of Instruction: Taught in English
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Description: Students will apply chemical tools and analysis to understand Black life in the U.S. and students will implement African American sensibilities to analyze chemistry. Diverse historical and contemporary scientists, intellectuals, and chemical discoveries will inform personal reflections and proposals for addressing inequities in chemistry and chemical education. This course will be accessible to students from a variety of backgrounds including STEM and non-STEM disciplines. No prior knowledge of chemistry or African American studies is required for engagement in this course.
The online course listing doesn’t provide the instructor for the course, but Rice’s African-American Studies department is full of proud critical race theorists. The last sentence of the course description is unintentionally humorous, as one can confidently say that student will emerge from the course with “no posterior knowledge of chemistry” either.
Rice is usually among the top-rated universities every year on the U.S. News, Forbes, and other higher education rankings. Clearly these rankings are worthless, and less than worthless for a student who wants to know which professors and courses are good and which professors and courses are ideological crap (and hence avoided). This one is easy to make out. But that’s not true of many faculty and course offerings.
Stay tuned. Maybe someone will do something about this problem. (Paging Bill Ackman. . .)
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