>Is this--complaints and objections from students (and parents?)--a problem >more common in public universities and colleges (and also in certain parts >of the country--e.g. the midwest? I teach at a conservative religiously-affiliated private university in the midwest, and I, too, have never had students opting out of classes. Of course, I'm not teaching course on pornography or Alien Sex, but I have shown things such as the opening of Prospero's Books and Last Temptation of Christ (the latter in a class team-taught with the chair of Theology here, no less!). If something does provoke someone, we discuss why it did, and so forth, and that has always worked well. As for the idea of academic freedom, it seems at times that we have greater academic freedom here than at some secular universities, as we can discuss things like God and morals in the classroom, whereas at a secular university these things might be considered taboo in a discussion. I would venture to suggest that such topics may even be considered more controversial than sex, violence, and nudity in the classroom (proponents of diversity often seem to omit religious, political, and philosophical diversity). If a university cannot be a place where truth and falsehood can grapple, on any topic whatsoever, than there is little separating a liberal arts eduation from a vocational school. mark ---- To sign off Screen-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF Screen-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]