Faculty debate free speech following professor event cancellation
The decision ignited censorship concerns within the USC community.
By TALIA WEXLER
Viet Thanh Nguyen — Pulitzer Prize-winning author, USC Aerol Arnold chair of English, and professor of English and American and ethnicity studies — was preparing to speak in front of an auditorium Oct. 20 to promote his new novel, “A Man of Two Faces.”
Just five hours before the event, Nguyen was disinvited by 92nd Street Y, New York, the Jewish cultural center that was set to host him. It has since been revealed that the center’s decision was because of Nguyen signing an open letter that condemned Israeli violence in Gaza.
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“Human rights groups have long condemned Israel’s occupation of Palestine and the inhumane treatment of — and system of racial domination over — Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli state,” the letter read. “But we are now witnessing a new and even more drastic emergency.”
The letter also called for governments to demand an immediate ceasefire from governments and the “unimpeded admission of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
Instead of speaking at the 92NY event, Nguyen spoke for a standing room of 100 people at McNally Jackson Books Seaport, an independent bookstore.
Nguyen declined the Daily Trojan‘s request for comment.
In a statement to the New York Times on Oct. 21, 92NY said the institute’s community had been devastated by Hamas’ attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, and it was going to “take some time to determine how to best use our platform and support the entire 92NY community.”
The same day, Nguyen wrote on Instagram, “I have no regrets about anything I have said or done in regards to Palestine, Israel, or the occupation and war.”
92NY also wrote that the event was only postponed, although Nguyen wrote on Instagram that the postponement was effectively a cancellation.
“Their language was ‘postponement,’ but no reason was given, no other date was offered, and I was never asked. So, in effect, cancellation,” Nguyen wrote.
In the same post, Nguyen wrote about how he had redirected his event at McNally Jackson Books Seaport to discuss the value of art in having open discourse and working through historical trauma.
“My book speaks to this time because it says civilian stories are war stories too,” he wrote. “In the end, the only thing I am good at is writing. And writing is the only way I know how to fight. And writing is the only way I know how to grieve.”
Nguyen is widely acclaimed among the Dornsife Department of English, said Sandra Ross, an associate professor of writing. In 2016, Nguyen won a Pulitzer Prize for his novel “The Sympathizer,” which centers on themes of war and turmoil.
In the days following the event’s cancellation and its coverage in the press, a group of professors began discussing the matter in an email chain titled “Concerned Faculty of USC.” Between one-third and one-half of USC faculty are in the non-affiliated email chain, according to a professor who anonymously disclosed it to the Daily Trojan.
The faculty also discussed censorship in regard to protest for the Israel-Hamas war.
Brent Blair, a professor of theater practice in voice and movement and the founder of the USC School of Dramatic Art’s Institute for Theater and Social Change, has been a longtime advocate for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. He said he viewed the letter Nguyen signed as academic, calling the readers into context for understanding the Israel-Hamas war.
“[The event] shouldn’t be canceled, we should be able to speak freely and respectfully,” Blair said. “Honoring that people have died and being aware of that, but speak freely.”
He also said he had heard that several faculty members left the email chain who felt shut down by opinions that opposed their own.
Professor Brent Blair emphasized that faculty should be able to speak freely and the letter Nguyen signed provided academic context for the war. (Fourandsixty / Wikimedia Commons)
Staff members of 92NY are navigating the implications of Nguyen’s event being canceled. 92NY Unterberg Poetry Center Director Sarah Chihaya and Senior Program Coordinator Sophie Herron have both resigned since the cancellation of Nguyen’s event.
Several writers have withdrawn from the literary series that Nguyen was set to be a part of. On Oct. 23, 92NY announced that its 2023-24 literary series was on pause because of public backlash, The Washington Post reported.
Howard Rodman, a professor of writing, said he was moved by these individuals who made sacrifices to defend free speech.
“I’m very heartened to learn that there is now among the staff a large questioning of the institution that would at the last minute disinvite someone for uttering opinions or signing onto opinions, which feel to me like they are well within the universe of discourse that one can have on a very, very complex, painful set of issues,” Rodman said.
Rodman grew up in Brooklyn, New York. During this time, he said 92NY was distinguished as a center for great writing and intellectual debate. As a professor, he said there is no one he would trust more than Nguyen to discuss the complex and painful challenges of war.
“If we’re going to have that discussion in my classroom,” Rodman said, “he would be the first person who I’d say ‘Can you come in and talk to my students?’”
On Nov. 3, a group of authors came together to sign “Now is a Time to Speak: An Open Letter to the 92nd Street Y,” published on the Literary Hub.
“We strongly believe that intelligent persons can disagree on the war; we ourselves are not unanimous in our views. But this is precisely why we must all work harder than ever to safeguard freedom of thought in our institutions,” the letter wrote.
The letter also called 92NY to uphold intellectual pluralism and free speech before the institution’s reputation is harmed.
Nguyen shared the letter on Instagram that same day.
“I wasn’t involved with the letter, but am grateful others have spoken out,” he wrote.
Ross said she feels that, as a private organization, 92NY had the right to disinvite Nguyen. However, in a public forum or at the University, she believes in protecting free speech to the fullest extent.
“We all have a right to free speech, but when it becomes hate speech, we must do something,” Ross said. “He had a right to sign the letter, they had the right to disinvite him … it’s complicated.”
