Over at Inside Higher Ed, they have a commentary piece of about liberal bias in higher education - particularly for those programs in the humanities. The writer goes on to talk about the people who are critical of academia’s liberal bias have no business criticizing it:

Politicians… along with many media blowhards and members of the public who revile professors, appear to have little more familiarity with the nature of humanistic scholarship than they do with that of brain surgery — though they would not presume to tell brain surgeons how they should operate, even in a tax-supported hospital.

But the problem is more complicated as these people do have a stake in higher education as taxpayers. As taxpayers, they have a right to demand curriculum that’s ideologically neutral.

I agree with the writer. College, and especially the humanities is about studying ideologies and challenging conventional thinking in pursuit of the truth (or a truth). Pedagogically speaking, teaching these “rogue” ideologies will create more aware and informed citizens. A more informed citizenry will have better insights into things like history, world events, and politics. That means people will vote for a certain candidate based on a conclusion they thought of themselves, rather than doing it because P.Diddy said “Vote or Die.”

When we don’t teach alternative ideologies, schools become institutions of hegemony that enforces standards and demands conformity. In fact it’s already that way as many of us see higher education as a stepping stone towards a career and not an opportunity to explore intellectually.