The BA in Western Civilisation degree set to be offered at the University of Wollongong "promotes a racist view of white supremacy". So said Dr Richard Mohr, a former director of UOW's Legal Intersections Research Centre. Dr Mohr wrote to his successor Professor Nan Seuffert, Dean of Law, Professor Colin Picker and other heads of schools expressing his concern about the controversial degree being developed within the Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts. Senior Professor Daniel Hutto, who developed the course outline, has previously stated the philosophy-focused program will engage students in an intellectual conversation with some of the greatest thinkers down the ages. Read more: Wollongong pub hosts Alternatives to 'Western Civilisation' series In the letter, also sent to the Mercury, Dr Mohr confines himself to "matters at the heart of scholarships and humanities". "Whatever may be said about inclusiveness or relationships between cultures, the focus on Western civilisation is profoundly retrograde and, ultimately, promotes a racist view of White Supremacy," he wrote. "These are strong words, but I believe they are justified. "[Australia] was built on dispossession of Indigenous peoples, genocidal removal of generations of children, and the suppression of cultures, practices and languages. "Australia's location makes our Asian and Pacific heritage and connections particularly important. This has been regarded by many as an inconvenient accident of Empire rather than the opportunity for cultural and economic enrichment that it really is. "To limit the horizons of scholarship and research to 'the West' is to spurn the lessons of sustainable and mutually stimulating coexistence that we are only just beginning to learn. "It is to deny our place in the world and to turn back to the blinkered vision that has nearly destroyed Australia's environment and humanity, from the colonial dispossession to the White Australia policy which spurred and was established with Federation. "We must be aware of the real dangers underlying seemingly bland statements that 'it's OK to be white', or that western civilisation needs to be granted renewed respect and privilege. Read more: No will for Ramsay Centre but UOW says there is a way "I hope your centres and schools can help to move forward this new process of enlightenment across nations - First nations, Pacific nations, Asian nations, all the nations from which Australians have come - and to resist pressures to return to imperialist and white supremacist tropes and institutions." UOW chancellor Jillian Broadbent recently said the western civilisation degree would produce critical, agile thinkers who would be able to "apply themselves to anything".
The BA in Western Civilisation degree set to be offered at the University of Wollongong "promotes a racist view of white supremacy".
So said Dr Richard Mohr, a former director of UOW's Legal Intersections Research Centre.
Dr Mohr wrote to his successor Professor Nan Seuffert, Dean of Law, Professor Colin Picker and other heads of schools expressing his concern about the controversial degree being developed within the Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts.
Senior Professor Daniel Hutto, who developed the course outline, has previously stated the philosophy-focused program will engage students in an intellectual conversation with some of the greatest thinkers down the ages.
In the letter, also sent to the Mercury, Dr Mohr confines himself to "matters at the heart of scholarships and humanities".
"Whatever may be said about inclusiveness or relationships between cultures, the focus on Western civilisation is profoundly retrograde and, ultimately, promotes a racist view of White Supremacy," he wrote.
"These are strong words, but I believe they are justified.
Dr Richard Mohr
"[Australia] was built on dispossession of Indigenous peoples, genocidal removal of generations of children, and the suppression of cultures, practices and languages.
"Australia's location makes our Asian and Pacific heritage and connections particularly important. This has been regarded by many as an inconvenient accident of Empire rather than the opportunity for cultural and economic enrichment that it really is.
"To limit the horizons of scholarship and research to 'the West' is to spurn the lessons of sustainable and mutually stimulating coexistence that we are only just beginning to learn.
"It is to deny our place in the world and to turn back to the blinkered vision that has nearly destroyed Australia's environment and humanity, from the colonial dispossession to the White Australia policy which spurred and was established with Federation.
"We must be aware of the real dangers underlying seemingly bland statements that 'it's OK to be white', or that western civilisation needs to be granted renewed respect and privilege.
"I hope your centres and schools can help to move forward this new process of enlightenment across nations - First nations, Pacific nations, Asian nations, all the nations from which Australians have come - and to resist pressures to return to imperialist and white supremacist tropes and institutions."
UOW chancellor Jillian Broadbent recently said the western civilisation degree would produce critical, agile thinkers who would be able to "apply themselves to anything".
