Former Mount Royal University (MRU) professor Frances Widdowson gave a lecture about wokeism and academic freedom on Zoom after protestors blocked her from speaking at the University of Lethbridge. .“Ironically, I was supposed to be giving this presentation at the University of Lethbridge tonight, but because of the president and his pandering to activists, this presentation was not allowed to go forward,” said Widdowson at the Wednesday event. .Widdowson said Monday she would be giving her lecture at U of L on Wednesday despite the school cancelling it. .READ MORE: UPDATED: Fired MRU professor vows to give talk at Lethbridge university despite cancellation."You will have to haul me away by security to stop me,” she said. .U of L said it would be stopping her from giving the lecture..Widdowson said she showed up on U of L’s campus for her lecture and was met with 1,000 protestors. Security guards told her it could present a safety risk, so she opted to move her talk onto Zoom. .She was able to give two talks to classes about indigenous ways of knowing. These talks were not the source of the conflict. .She defined academic freedom as a concept not restricted by doctrines, where there is no predetermined ways to think about ideas. She said academic freedom is about pursuing evidence wherever it leads. .The former professor went on to say it includes freedom from institutional censorship. If people are unable to follow the evidence, she said they will be “very constrained in terms of your understanding of different issues.” .Widdowson said a major threat to academic freedom is wokeism. Her understanding of wokeism is drawn from Cynical Theories by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay. .Pluckrose and Lindsay define wokeism as reified postmodernism. In this version of postmodernism, terms are redefined and dissent is not tolerated. .She acknowledged pushing back against wokeism at MRU led to her termination. She joked about its slogan "You belong here," saying it should be "Some belong here." .Widdowson said in April she was taking legal action to defend academic freedom and free speech in universities..READ MORE: MRU professor fights back after being fired for questioning ‘woke’ ideas.She was fired in 2021 for criticizing subjects such as truth and reconciliation with indigenous people, Black Lives Matter, and trans rights..“Wokeism is the colloquial term used for the postmodern tactic of reducing scientific objectivity to subjective authoritarianism, imposing its arbitrary interpretation of what is acceptable,” she said. .While people are familiar with Widdowson’s case, she said there were others impacted before her at MRU. An event on trans activism and women’s rights with Feminist Current publisher Meghan Murphy was stopped because wokeism accepts trans women are women. .Former MRU geography professor Mark Hecht had his field school cancelled because he questioned if ethnic diversity hurts social trust, which wokeism always views as positive. Widdowson argued her talk at U of L was cancelled because she is critical of narratives around residential schools, which wokeism does not want questioned..Since wokeism is totalitarian, she said a counter-talk was organized to prevent people from listening to her position. Two petitions were started to have her lecture cancelled because students said she should be unable to speak. .U of L’s Education Undergraduate Society said her views on indigenous ways of knowing were unacceptable. This culminated in wokeism pressuring U of L President Mike Mahon to cancel the talk. .Widdowson said the incidents at MRU and U of L show academic character is being undermined. She added there are “two universities on the brink of being destroyed because of this intrusion of woke activism onto the campus.” .She said the solution to this problem is supporting her case. If she is not reinstated, it will be a huge blow to universities. .Another solution she offered is organizing faculty. Many faculty feel they cannot speak because they are worried they will be taken out and suffer consequences. .People can stand up for academic freedom by taking a unified approach. All people’s academic freedom should be defended rather than using it as a weapon. .Widdowson concluded by saying she is not a crazy person with strange ideas. .“I’ve got no sort of racist or any kind of oppressive kind of viewpoints,” she said. .“And the fact that I’m being chased out of the university I think is a very kind of scary thing that’s happening.”
