Plato is latest casualty in Texas A&M crusade against LGBTQ+ course content

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - In the latest move in Texas' campaign to bar gender and race ideology from education, an intro-level philosophy course at Texas A&M University has had sections of Plato's writings removed.

Professor Martin Peterson, Ph.D., a philosopher of nearly 30 years, is of the belief that all of Plato's writings should be up for discussion in higher education. He had planned to teach excerpts from Symposium, a foundational work in ancient philosophy, in his Philosophy 111 course. Given the option of removing that content or being reassigned to a new class, he's been forced to opt for the former. 

Texas A&M has Plato content removed

What we know:

In recent months, Texas A&M has fired a professor, demoted department heads, ousted a retired U.S. Air Force four-star general from his seat as school president, and reshaped their framework for accepted course content. It all started when the definition of "gender" was officially tightened — and the penalty for suggesting a broader understanding was drastically increased. 

The most recent casualty of the push by state lawmakers to squash advocates of race and gender ideology is Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher who, Peterson admits, wrote at times on difficult issues. 

What they're saying:

"He talks about sex and gender relations, and he does not express views that we today always agree with, but it's an important perspective," Peterson said in a Thursday interview with FOX Local. "My department head apparently thought that he is advocating gender ideology, and you might perhaps say so. Plato expresses his view, but the mere fact that I include him in my syllabus doesn't mean that I defend any particular position."

The operative language in A&M's new rule set does in fact come down to defending a position. Race ideology (attempting "to shame a particular race or ethnicity") and gender ideology ("a concept of self-assessed gender identity replacing, and disconnected from, the biological category of sex") were defined when the school system changed their course content bylaws in November, but these were only out-and-out banned in the context of a professor advocating for a certain viewpoint. 

"I should talk about topics that are relevant for that course and I should do it well, and I should try to be neutral and articulate various perspectives," said Peterson, who's taught the subject at A&M since 2014.

"Philosophers must be allowed to teach Plato, all of his texts, not just some of them. Even the most conservative thinkers believe that Plato is an important figure."

Conservative leaders react

On the topic of conservative thinkers, State Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) has voiced his disdain for the news coverage of Peterson's dilemma. Harrison, a proud Aggie, was among the most vocal in the initial push to remove Professor Melissa McCoul, the A&M instructor fired as the controversy began in September. Harrison credits himself with McCoul's termination and former school president Mark Welsh's resignation, having led a virtual charge on X, formerly Twitter, that seemed to have caught the eye of Gov. Greg Abbott.

The other side:

"Liberal academics at Texas A&M have manufactured a scandal by slipping a few sentences from Plato into a transgenderism section they knew would get cut," Harrison said in an interview with Steve Bannon Thursday morning. "They then ran to their media allies to concoct a fake story. No, Texas A&M hasn't banned Plato, but for the first time in over a decade, we're finally forcing real constraints on transgender indoctrination."

FOX Local asked Peterson about this accusation by Harrison, and Peterson clarified that he is not a "left-wing extremist." In fact, he said, he believes politics should be avoided as a professor of higher education — his focus is on research and teaching. 

In regard to whether the whole thing was orchestrated, Peterson said he's taught this class several times before. He provided FOX Local with the syllabus for the contentious course, aptly titled "Contemporary Moral Issues." The Symposium excerpts (180c–185c, 189c–193d, 210a–212b) are now stricken through, replaced with the New York Times' reporting on Peterson's situation. The accompanying lectures, previously titled "Race and Gender Ideology," are now titled "Free Speech" and "Academic Freedom."

"I find it hard to believe that all of this is compatible with the First Amendment," Peterson said when asked about Texas lawmakers stepping into the classroom. "But more importantly, censorship is not a path to academic excellence. It's not good for the university that we are being censored. No other leading university in the world is doing anything like this. If you want A&M to become and continue to be a successful university, we shouldn't censor faculty."

Texas A&M's reasoning

Peterson provided the email chain between himself and his department head, in which he learned of the required changes to his syllabus. The department head noted that the topics at hand require an exemption to be taught, as previously reported by FOX Local — however, this apparently applies only to non-core curriculum courses. According to the rules cited in the email, core classes, like Peterson's, which are required for certain degree plans, can not "advocate race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity." Those classes are not eligible for an exemption.

A representative of the university provided a statement to FOX Local Friday, after the time of publishing. That statement reads in full below:

"Texas A&M University will teach numerous dialogues by Plato in a variety of courses this semester and will continue to do so in the future. In alignment with recent System policy, university administrators are reviewing all core curriculum courses to ensure they do not teach race or gender ideology.

Recently, the head of the Department of Philosophy rejected one section of Philosophy 111, a core curriculum course, because the professor slated to teach the class had included modules on gender and race ideology. These titles were added following the new policy approved by the Board of Regents specifically prohibiting the teaching of such ideologies.

The Department Head advised the professor that he may teach the course if the modules that do not align with the new policy are removed. If the professor chooses not to comply, the section will be reassigned to another professor to ensure our students can move forward with the course they registered for without interruption.

Other sections of the same course have been approved, meet learning outcomes and include works by Plato but do not include modules on race and gender ideology."

In his response to the initial email, Peterson attempted to defend the material's position in his class, noting that he does not "advocate" ideologies, but rather instructs students how to "evaluate arguments commonly raised in discussions of contemporary moral issues." Even if the school still took issue with Plato's writings, Peterson argued, there was still a serious question now raised about Constitutional protections and prior restraint. 

In turn, the school simply gave Peterson a choice between removing the Plato material or being reassigned to a non-core class. Begrudgingly, Peterson chose the former. 

"I don't think that I am the victim here," Peterson said. "It's all about the students. The students are the victims."

"I just got an email from someone who described himself as a former student at A&M, a very conservative Christian person, who explicitly said that he benefited from reading Plato at A&M," the professor continued. "If you aren't allowed to teach Plato, what is left to talk about in the philosophy department?"

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