Former MRU professor Frances Widdowson — fired for questioning "woke" ideas — says she's concerned "activists are replacing academics" in universities..Her comment comes after a former MRU student shared what he called "bias left-wing propaganda" and "woke" curriculum being taught in the Calgary-based university..READ MORE: MRU course curriculum focusing on 'far right fascist media'.Widdowson said the curriculum in question "seems to feel one-sided," but admitted it would be hard to judge without hearing the full content. .The general studies course — Social Media and Social Movements taught by Prof. Michael Truscello — states the course will "examine social movements framed by social media use.".The syllabus includes 13 weeks of study topics.. GENERAL EDUCATION 2403: Social Media and Social MovementsGENERAL EDUCATION 2403: Social Media and Social Movements syllabus.Week Nine is titled The Rise of the Far Right/Fascist Entryism Online: Jordan Peterson, Ben Shapiro, Joe Rogan, Alex Jones. The study has students review an online opinion article by Ben Burgis and Matt McManus — Why Jordan Peterson is Always Wrong..For week 10 — "The Great Replacement" and Other Far Right Conspiracy Theories — students are asked to watch a YouTube documentary titled Fake news, propaganda, and conspiracy theories - The fight against disinformation..The video comes with this warning: "The following content has been identified by the YouTube community as inappropriate or offensive to some audiences.".During Week 11 — January 6th and The Ottawa Truck Convoy: Fascist Rehearsals — students are expected to review another online article by Todd Gordon titled Fascism is as Canadian as the Maple Leaf..In the article, the author refers to the Freedom Convoy that descended on Ottawa in early 2022 as "the biggest protest organized by the Canadian far right since the 1930s."."It swarmed Ottawa with reactionary exuberance, waving Nazi, Confederate, Gadsden, Red Ensign, and Maple Leaf flags, issuing threats of violence against opponents, and dreaming of recuperating a mythologized lost Canada," reads the article.."While the politics of this movement remain fluid, they’re recognizable as the politics of the far right: a continuum that includes fascists and those who occupy the space between fascists and mainstream conservatives, with a more aggressively racist, colonial, transphobic, anti-union, and anti-liberal politics than the mainstream is willing to openly endorse.".MRU defended the course curriculum and the instructor teaching it in a statement provided to the Western Standard. ."Mount Royal is a place for the debate of opinions and ideologies, for free speech and the safe and respectful exchange of ideas," said MRU.."Faculty members at all universities enjoy academic freedom, a scholar's freedom to teach, conduct research and express ideas without risk of official interference or professional disadvantage. This is at the core of the academic system in Canada and around the world.".But Widdowson — a former professor in the Department of Economics, Justice and Policy Studies — was fired in December after the university took exception to social media posts she shared on her personal accounts satirizing a cartoon about "misgender fatigue." .Widdowson — who said she's been fighting against the "woke crowd" for more than a decade — is concerned universities are hiring more "activists pursuing their activist agendas" than academics. ."These scholars are then proselytizing to students rather than teaching them to critically examine these topics," Widdowson told the Western Standard. ."There's nothing wrong with discussing these ideas, but I would hope they are offering a variety of perspectives objectively, with other points of view." .Widdowson said she appreciated MRU's statement regarding a "scholar's freedom to teach" and said she agrees the university shouldn't "micro-manage" course content. ."But, the difficulty comes when these universities largely employ activists in place of scholars; this way it could become one sided as opposed to teaching students to critically evaluate these types of topics.".She said she was also concerned some of the course content "implies Jordan Peterson is some sort of a gateway drug to fascism." ."For some, I imagine, that's the case. But there are certainly others with a different perspective," said Widdowson. .Widdowson highlighted an article published in July 2019 by the Post Millennial involving Truscello, the professor teaching the current MRU course..In a 2019 tweet, Truscello, who associated himself with the far-left extremist group Antifa, advocated for the murder of the "bourgeoisie" — referring to the middle or upper-middle classes who reinforce capitalism, according to the article. .Truscello, at the time apparently defended Antifa violence in the state of Oregon that was responsible for the injury and hospitalization of prominent journalist Andy Ngo. .Referred to as an "anarchist," Truscello wrote several academic papers on the topic of anarchism and far-left politics. .Receiving mixed reviews on the website Rate My Professor, one student said Truscello "seems more interested in teaching his personal opinions, than actual facts.".One student called the class, "beyond horrible," another said the class was "painful," and a few students called Truscello "opinionated." .Truscello's Twitter account — @TentativeSwipes — is "protected" and only "approved followers" are able to see his tweets. .Widdowson in April announced she was pursuing legal action against MRU for her dismissal. .READ MORE: MRU professor fights back after being fired for questioning ‘woke’ ideas.Calling her case an “egregious violation of my academic freedom and freedom of expression rights,” Widdowson said she believes “woke-ism” will have massive implications for the academy and lead to “the deterioration of the intellectual character of universities.”
