Scott Masson is Associate Professor of English Literature and a public intellectual.
Category: Culture
Welcome to the Kazingram Dialogue Podcast
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Consciousness: Re-evaluating the Canadian Values Test
I was surprised when my historian friend informed me that, unlike our American counterparts, Canada doesn't legally have separation of church and government because of its connection to the British monarchy. As "Defender of the Faith," the reigning monarch is the head of both institutions--church and state. Canada's Church is symbolically protected as a member of the Commonwealth.
The Groundwater Conundrum in India
There is an imminent groundwater crisis and the Indian government must take immediate steps to save the country from a disaster. Given its severity, changes in legislation must be made to allow everyone, not merely landowners access to groundwater resources.
Privilege of the Gaps
In pursuit of equality in all measurable outcomes, the modern equivalent of spells, sacrifices, and rituals to manipulate the gods are diversity quotas, equity programs, redistribution of resources, reparations, and affirmative action.
Who Can Teach Indigenous History? A Letter from SAFS to MSVU
Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) in Halifax recently came under criticism because a non-indigenous scholar, Martha Walls, was chosen to teach Selected Topics in North American History: Residential Schools. Consequently, the university called for a meeting between Indigenous faculty and staff and Martha Walls to "discuss a way forward".
Reinstating Free Speech Absolutism in Our University
It has become almost indisputable that the typical humanities university student of today has become incapable of tolerating ideas and opinions that are contrary to theirs. Any dissenting idea is viewed as a threat of harm and is responded to accordingly; whether it involves blasting air horns and screaming expletives at professors, spitting on guest speakers, or preventing a planned event from taking place using commercial-grade fireworks and Molotov cocktails, ideologically-driven student groups are determined to use any means necessary to shut down the vocalization of views they deem offensive.
