It’s a Funny Old World 11

“Thomas Docherty was banned from the University of Warwick in January,” reports the Daily Telegraph, “for allegedly giving off ‘negative vibes’ and undermining the authority of the former head of his department.” This is all the information on the case I could find on the web, the Times Higher Education supplement giving the same story, but I would not be surprised if the university’s case really were that silly. Academia is the home to the thinnest of skins.

The story continues:

 The case against him included “inappropriate sighing”, “making ironic comments” and “projecting negative body language”.

. . . He was accused of undermining the authority of Catherine Bates, the former head of English who stepped down earlier this year. It is understood Professor Bates originally brought the complaint against Professor Docherty, but the case was taken over by the university’s senior management.

The article notes that Docherty has been “a prominent critic of the marketization of education,” also called “neoliberal managerialism,” though the university denies that his views had anything to do with the suspension.