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Italy’s main University in Milan just banned teaching Dostoevsky

johng 5y ago
Unreal. The follow up tweet is also quite amazing. "Update: The professor who was asked to suspend his course on Dostoevsky resigned. The University told him that he could reinstate the course if he included Ukrainian authors. He said he wasn’t an expert on Ukrainian literature, so he decided to teach Dostoevsky elsewhere."
- BitwiseFool 5y ago
  >"so he decided to teach Dostoevsky elsewhere." I feel like it would have been better for him to stay and fight for his principles. Now the administration is just going to fill the professorship with someone who will toe the line and the university will slip further into this insanely partisan groupthink.
  - DyslexicAtheist 5y ago
    the only way I can make sense of this (and I'm probably wrong maybe some Italians can help me) is that Italy is extremely divided in their politics (see Salvini[1]) ... and so the university overcompensated by trying to "stick it to Putin" while being totally ignorant about Russian literature. It's a long shot but it's all I've got. :/ [1] https://twitter.com/paologerbaudo/status/1501200808976728079 https://twitter.com/paologerbaudo/status/1501200808976728079
    - ilSignorCarlo 5y ago
      it's honestly much simpler than this. Who took the decision of cancelling the course was just thinking they were doing the right and sensitive thing. This time we can be almost 100% certain that there were no politics or politicians involved. Just a dumb move by someone that clearly has no idea how things go
      - DyslexicAtheist 5y ago
        "Hanlon's razer" I agree it makes more sense
  - watwut 5y ago
    He was not university profesor, so there was no way for him to stay. T
- DyslexicAtheist 5y ago
  the outrage this cancellation has created luckily made the university peddle back on this, but no info on if the Prof got his job back, or if the university apologized for their behavior. It's incredibly difficult to fire people in Italy but somebody should at least apologize because this is a terrible look. Certainly would think twice before studying literature, or philosophy at such a place. (triple skull emoji)
effnorwood 5y ago
rixed 5y ago
I can add a similar story: from time to time I'm volunteering on a russian school sail ship, that's been sailing around Europe for the last 20 years, from festival to festival, teaching people from every origins to sail and live together in a 3-mast replica. Many harbour-cities in Europe have send messages to that ship that it was no longer welcome, because of its flag, regardless of the ship having no ties to Russia's government, not having been to Russia for the last 10 years, having Ukrainian crewmembers, etc. Funny enough, this very morning a former sailor on that ship wrote a letter, which ended with these words: > It is with a heavy heart that I learnt today that Russian ships are not welcomed anymore to the Tall Ships Races and maritime festivals because of the war in Ukraine. Shtandart is a private ship, built and operated privately by sailing enthusiasts, with no connection whatsoever with the Russian government. I cannot imagine how that exclusion can have any impact on the Russian government decisions. I can see though very clearly how that exclusion can cripple the Shtandart project financially, making its life changing mission impossible. > I see banning the Shtandart from our maritime festivals and the Tall Ships Races like banning Tarkovsky from our cinemas, Tchaikovsky from our music halls, Kandinsky from our art museums or Dostoevsky from our libraries. Premonitions...
- mupuff1234 5y ago
  Might be a silly question, but can't they sail under a different flag or no flag at all?
  - ghusto 5y ago
    I don't think it's silly. I looked into this kind of thing once, and as I recall, it's super illegal.
    - baobabKoodaa 5y ago
      Surely a ship can change which country it is registered to.
  - rixed 5y ago
    No flag is illegal. You can indeed switch flag, but it's not easy, and they do not like that solution for several reasons: - for them the flag means "Russia" not "Putin" (they added the Ukrainian flag by the way, which might also be borderline illegal) - I suspect they do not want to give way to what they perceive as a temporary hysteria - the ship is a replica of the first ship of the Baltic sea, it carries various flags of historical importance. You can't just relabel it as a panamean ship and call it a day (although maybe that's what will be done eventually, if only temporarily). I personally believe that they are right to stand against russophobia, as long as possible. Please don't misinterpret this as suport for the current war, or support for some russian imperialism. Come to visit the ship one day if you have the chance, and see for yourself.
pablok2 5y ago
Apparently some "smart" people are destined to repeat history.
whatshisface 5y ago
Dostovesky is such an irrelevant author to ban, he was from two governments ago.
- DyslexicAtheist 5y ago
  I'm sorry you feel that way. He is certainly as relevant as Camus, Proust, Kafka, Hemingway, Beckett, Sartre, Solzhenitsyn, and many others. The fact that he is still popular after all these years is the best endorsement a writer could get. The bestsellers are littered with names that will be forgotten in 5 years. As N.N. Taleb says: a book that has been around for a hundred years is likely to be around for another 100. The same can't be said for a book that has been popular for 5 years. maybe this might change your mind: https://archive.org/details/the-dream-of-a-ridiculous-man-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky-1877 https://archive.org/details/the-dream-of-a-ridiculous-man-by...
  - ajhurliman 5y ago
    I think they're meaning to say "He has no philosophical or moral ties to the current government" rather than "He's not relevant as a literary figure in modern society"
  - hnov 5y ago
    I think the complaint is that the author has nothing to do with the previous regime, let alone the current one.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - jldugger 5y ago
    > I'm sorry you feel that way. He is certainly as relevant as Camus, Proust, Kafka, Hemingway, Beckett, Sartre, Solzhenitsyn, and many others. I think the point is that the author has nothing to do with the re-emergence of the Soviet regime, and banning him because "Russia" ignores two centuries of history.
    - 5y ago
thehappypm 5y ago
Are we the baddies ?
- manofmanysmiles 5y ago
  Only insofar as we the people allow any form of government to do bad things in our name.
- ouid 5y ago
  There is a very very very very dumb heuristic that people rely upon for political reasoning. I use 4 verys becaues I don't think 3 is sufficient. There is no such thing as the baddies. Yes, if two people disagree, at least one of them is wrong, but that is a lower bound, one which is rarely met in practice.
genericone 5y ago
We're watching modern-era McCarthy-ism happen in real time at a global scale
- tenpies 5y ago
  Some other top picks come to mind: > Vaccine Delivery Canceled to Country That Did Not Condemn Russia See: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/vaccine-delivery-canceled-to-country-that-did-not-condemn-russia/ar-AAUKbha?ocid=msedgntp https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/vaccine-delivery-cancel... > Cardiff Philharmonic replaces the programme of its upcoming all-Tchaikovsky concert, citing it as 'inappropriate at this time’. See: https://www.classical-music.com/news/cardiff-philharmonic-removes-tchaikovsky-from-programme-in-light-of-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/ https://www.classical-music.com/news/cardiff-philharmonic-re... > Facebook temporarily allows posts on Ukraine war calling for violence against invading Russians or Putin's death See: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/exclusive-facebook-instagram-temporarily-allow-calls-violence-against-russians-2022-03-10/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/exclusive-facebook-inst... > Montreal Symphony Orchestra drops Russian piano prodigy from concerts amid backlash https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/montreal-symphony-orchestra-drops-russian-piano-prodigy-from-concerts-amid-backlash-1.5811068 https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/montreal-symphony-orchestra-drop... May history judge the West harshly and these actions be a reminder to it that it has zero moral credibility to project upon the world. Also if you have any Russian acquaintances, now would be the time to make sure your attic is in good shape because we are a very short step from the Stop Putin Camps being deployed.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - itsoktocry 5y ago
    There's an astonishing number of people that are backing these decisions, if social media is any indication. It's truly unbelievable. I mean, we're attacking people of Russian heritage. Whenever similar things happen with other races or cultures we bend over backwards to ensure the opposite is occurring: do not stereotype. These are strange times.
endisneigh 5y ago
I'm starting to really understand why we haven't found any intelligent extraterrestrial life with each passing day. The amount of completely nonsensical hatred and banning of Russians that's so fervently supported is astonishing. Chess players, athletes, professors, banning pre-modern authors. Really, what's the point? Even if this particular situation is a hoax, it's not like other Russians haven't been banned.
- gostsamo 5y ago
  Well, you know the joke that the best evidence for the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence is the fact that they still haven't contacted us.
zzzbra 5y ago
It looks like this is actually coming from a satirical source? uh oh
AlexandrB 5y ago
We're entering "Freedom Fries" levels of stupid here. I was born in Ukraine and still have close family there now, but moves like this don't do anything to help. One of the most common tactics for repressive Russian regimes over the last 100 years has been jailing and exiling their own academics and authors. Ironic that western institutions now want to follow in their footsteps.
cs702 5y ago
We all know the famous quote by George Santayana: "Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it."[a] I propose a variant: With every new generation that is born, society becomes more ignorant of the past, which recedes into ever more distant history, until only a minority of educated people, including Historians, remember it, condemning everyone else to repeat the same mistakes. [a] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/634544-those-who-cannot-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/634544-those-who-cannot-rem...
gyosko 5y ago
This is partially true. Yes, Bicocca University DID cancel a 4 lesson course about Dostoevskij, but after the professor went viral on social media they made up their minds and confirmed the course. Yes, it was a very nonsense decision but they DID NOT banned teaching Dostoevskij in the end.
- ilSignorCarlo 5y ago
  they confirmed the course telling the "professor" (he's actually a writer) that he needed to talk also about Ukranian literature and authors. After this, he decided to simply held his course somewhere else
zozbot234 5y ago
Let's be clear here, he's not being canceled because he was Russian but because he supports Putin's ideas and because he has not distanced himself from what Putin is doing. Public figures also have this kind of responsibility.
- ouid 5y ago
  What? Fyodor Dostoevsky died in 1881.
- itsoktocry 5y ago
  >The actual issue is that he has not disclaimed support for Putin's operation in the Ukraine. Why the hell should people have to "disclaim" support of anything? Can you list all the things you disclaim? I need to see if you're a good person.
  - diordiderot 5y ago
    It's more like if I specifically ask you if you support the kkk, and you refuse
- codedokode 5y ago
  Yes, it is definitely Dostoyevsky's fault that he didn't get up from his tomb and didn't oppose Putin.
ilSignorCarlo 5y ago
Italian here: this really happened, but I think that both the tweet and the HN title are misleading. Paolo Nori, an Italian writer, not a university professor, was supposed to collaborate with the university to hold a free 4-lesson course on Dostoevsky. The university originally decided to cancel the course and the writer published a video saying that he couldn't believe what they were doing and that, of course, the decision didn't make much sense. Many people protested and complained and the university went back on their steps, but said that Nori, besides talking about Dostoevsky should've also presented some Ukranian authors. Nori refused because, again, he thinks the request doesn't make sense and also he's not an expert on Ukranian literature and doesn't know any author. It's still an absurd situation, but I don't know if it should be framed as a ban
- chrisweekly 5y ago
  +1 Thanks for the additional context.
- pphysch 5y ago
  I doubt that the ultimate motive was to "present Ukrainian authors", because they could have done that by hiring actual experts in this space, or even just giving out free books by such authors. It seems like the ultimate motive was to "ban Dostoevsky" and they pushed until they found a way to do so with plausible deniability. I.e. "We didn't do dismiss you, you just chose not comply with our unreasonable policy changes".
  - ilSignorCarlo 5y ago
    no, sorry, it's not like that. Paolo Nori, the writer who was supposed to hold the course, is a well known and loved writer in Italy. Besides being an expert on Russian literature, he's also funny and his lessons are special because he's doing them. The same course on Dostoevsky by any other professor wouldn't have gotten the same attention and interest
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
tejohnso 5y ago
Cancel culture has reached an absurd, satirical level cancelling an entire culture and nation of people now. And not even just people. The International Cat Federation banned Russian cats from competition [1]. This cat story is something I'd expect to see in The Onion. [1]: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/international-cat-federation-bans-russian-felines-competitions-rcna18595 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/international-cat-feder...
- gambiting 5y ago
  That's an absolutely absurd conclusion to reach here. Yes a university banning Dostoyevsky is stupid, but Russia has attacked a free independent country and is bombing hospitals and maternity wards. Everything and anything to do with Russia should be currently banned if you have even a sliver of a moral compass. That's not cancel culture, that's having two eyes and a few braincells to go with them.
  - baobabKoodaa 5y ago
    > Everything and anything to do with Russia should be currently banned if you have even a sliver of a moral compass. That's not cancel culture, that's having two eyes and a few braincells to go with them. Eh, that is a prototypical example of cancel culture, and your suggestion of re-naming this activity to "having two eyes and a few braincells to go with them" is very insincere and unhelpful.
    - gambiting 5y ago
      Getting rid of any and all ties with a country that is starting aggression in Europe not seen here in 70 years, is cancel culture? Because if yes, then sure, I love cancel culture. We should cancel culture the crap out of Russia, including their cat beauty contests.
      - samus 5y ago
        "Getting rid of ties" is very different from declaring a witch hunt on anything concerning Russian culture. Surely we should also stop using any technology Russian inventors invented or helped invent? Should chemists look for a replacement of the Periodic Table?
unsupp0rted 5y ago
lucidone 5y ago
And Tolstoy inspired Gandhi - shall we posthumously cancel him too?
calyth2018 5y ago
And this post is already flagged. Guess we're desperate for our Two Minute Hate, aren't we?
phendrenad2 5y ago
Hopefully people are waking up the reality that 90% of people can only think in terms of "country A good, country B bad". And hopefully, what that says about our education systems.

Unreal. The follow up tweet is also quite amazing. "Update: The professor who was asked to suspend his course on Dostoevsky resigned. The University told him that he could reinstate the course if he included Ukrainian authors. He said he wasn’t an expert on Ukrainian literature, so he decided to teach Dostoevsky elsewhere."

BitwiseFool 5y ago
>"so he decided to teach Dostoevsky elsewhere." I feel like it would have been better for him to stay and fight for his principles. Now the administration is just going to fill the professorship with someone who will toe the line and the university will slip further into this insanely partisan groupthink.
- DyslexicAtheist 5y ago
  the only way I can make sense of this (and I'm probably wrong maybe some Italians can help me) is that Italy is extremely divided in their politics (see Salvini[1]) ... and so the university overcompensated by trying to "stick it to Putin" while being totally ignorant about Russian literature. It's a long shot but it's all I've got. :/ [1] https://twitter.com/paologerbaudo/status/1501200808976728079 https://twitter.com/paologerbaudo/status/1501200808976728079
  - ilSignorCarlo 5y ago
    it's honestly much simpler than this. Who took the decision of cancelling the course was just thinking they were doing the right and sensitive thing. This time we can be almost 100% certain that there were no politics or politicians involved. Just a dumb move by someone that clearly has no idea how things go
    - DyslexicAtheist 5y ago
      "Hanlon's razer" I agree it makes more sense
- watwut 5y ago
  He was not university profesor, so there was no way for him to stay. T
DyslexicAtheist 5y ago
the outrage this cancellation has created luckily made the university peddle back on this, but no info on if the Prof got his job back, or if the university apologized for their behavior. It's incredibly difficult to fire people in Italy but somebody should at least apologize because this is a terrible look. Certainly would think twice before studying literature, or philosophy at such a place. (triple skull emoji)

effnorwood 5y ago

rixed 5y ago

I can add a similar story: from time to time I'm volunteering on a russian school sail ship, that's been sailing around Europe for the last 20 years, from festival to festival, teaching people from every origins to sail and live together in a 3-mast replica. Many harbour-cities in Europe have send messages to that ship that it was no longer welcome, because of its flag, regardless of the ship having no ties to Russia's government, not having been to Russia for the last 10 years, having Ukrainian crewmembers, etc. Funny enough, this very morning a former sailor on that ship wrote a letter, which ended with these words: > It is with a heavy heart that I learnt today that Russian ships are not welcomed anymore to the Tall Ships Races and maritime festivals because of the war in Ukraine. Shtandart is a private ship, built and operated privately by sailing enthusiasts, with no connection whatsoever with the Russian government. I cannot imagine how that exclusion can have any impact on the Russian government decisions. I can see though very clearly how that exclusion can cripple the Shtandart project financially, making its life changing mission impossible. > I see banning the Shtandart from our maritime festivals and the Tall Ships Races like banning Tarkovsky from our cinemas, Tchaikovsky from our music halls, Kandinsky from our art museums or Dostoevsky from our libraries. Premonitions...

mupuff1234 5y ago
Might be a silly question, but can't they sail under a different flag or no flag at all?
- ghusto 5y ago
  I don't think it's silly. I looked into this kind of thing once, and as I recall, it's super illegal.
  - baobabKoodaa 5y ago
    Surely a ship can change which country it is registered to.
- rixed 5y ago
  No flag is illegal. You can indeed switch flag, but it's not easy, and they do not like that solution for several reasons: - for them the flag means "Russia" not "Putin" (they added the Ukrainian flag by the way, which might also be borderline illegal) - I suspect they do not want to give way to what they perceive as a temporary hysteria - the ship is a replica of the first ship of the Baltic sea, it carries various flags of historical importance. You can't just relabel it as a panamean ship and call it a day (although maybe that's what will be done eventually, if only temporarily). I personally believe that they are right to stand against russophobia, as long as possible. Please don't misinterpret this as suport for the current war, or support for some russian imperialism. Come to visit the ship one day if you have the chance, and see for yourself.

pablok2 5y ago

Apparently some "smart" people are destined to repeat history.

whatshisface 5y ago

Dostovesky is such an irrelevant author to ban, he was from two governments ago.

DyslexicAtheist 5y ago
I'm sorry you feel that way. He is certainly as relevant as Camus, Proust, Kafka, Hemingway, Beckett, Sartre, Solzhenitsyn, and many others. The fact that he is still popular after all these years is the best endorsement a writer could get. The bestsellers are littered with names that will be forgotten in 5 years. As N.N. Taleb says: a book that has been around for a hundred years is likely to be around for another 100. The same can't be said for a book that has been popular for 5 years. maybe this might change your mind: https://archive.org/details/the-dream-of-a-ridiculous-man-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky-1877 https://archive.org/details/the-dream-of-a-ridiculous-man-by...
- ajhurliman 5y ago
  I think they're meaning to say "He has no philosophical or moral ties to the current government" rather than "He's not relevant as a literary figure in modern society"
- hnov 5y ago
  I think the complaint is that the author has nothing to do with the previous regime, let alone the current one.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- jldugger 5y ago
  > I'm sorry you feel that way. He is certainly as relevant as Camus, Proust, Kafka, Hemingway, Beckett, Sartre, Solzhenitsyn, and many others. I think the point is that the author has nothing to do with the re-emergence of the Soviet regime, and banning him because "Russia" ignores two centuries of history.
  - 5y ago

thehappypm 5y ago

Are we the baddies ?

manofmanysmiles 5y ago
Only insofar as we the people allow any form of government to do bad things in our name.
ouid 5y ago
There is a very very very very dumb heuristic that people rely upon for political reasoning. I use 4 verys becaues I don't think 3 is sufficient. There is no such thing as the baddies. Yes, if two people disagree, at least one of them is wrong, but that is a lower bound, one which is rarely met in practice.

genericone 5y ago

We're watching modern-era McCarthy-ism happen in real time at a global scale

tenpies 5y ago
Some other top picks come to mind: > Vaccine Delivery Canceled to Country That Did Not Condemn Russia See: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/vaccine-delivery-canceled-to-country-that-did-not-condemn-russia/ar-AAUKbha?ocid=msedgntp https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/vaccine-delivery-cancel... > Cardiff Philharmonic replaces the programme of its upcoming all-Tchaikovsky concert, citing it as 'inappropriate at this time’. See: https://www.classical-music.com/news/cardiff-philharmonic-removes-tchaikovsky-from-programme-in-light-of-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/ https://www.classical-music.com/news/cardiff-philharmonic-re... > Facebook temporarily allows posts on Ukraine war calling for violence against invading Russians or Putin's death See: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/exclusive-facebook-instagram-temporarily-allow-calls-violence-against-russians-2022-03-10/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/exclusive-facebook-inst... > Montreal Symphony Orchestra drops Russian piano prodigy from concerts amid backlash https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/montreal-symphony-orchestra-drops-russian-piano-prodigy-from-concerts-amid-backlash-1.5811068 https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/montreal-symphony-orchestra-drop... May history judge the West harshly and these actions be a reminder to it that it has zero moral credibility to project upon the world. Also if you have any Russian acquaintances, now would be the time to make sure your attic is in good shape because we are a very short step from the Stop Putin Camps being deployed.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- itsoktocry 5y ago
  There's an astonishing number of people that are backing these decisions, if social media is any indication. It's truly unbelievable. I mean, we're attacking people of Russian heritage. Whenever similar things happen with other races or cultures we bend over backwards to ensure the opposite is occurring: do not stereotype. These are strange times.

endisneigh 5y ago

I'm starting to really understand why we haven't found any intelligent extraterrestrial life with each passing day. The amount of completely nonsensical hatred and banning of Russians that's so fervently supported is astonishing. Chess players, athletes, professors, banning pre-modern authors. Really, what's the point? Even if this particular situation is a hoax, it's not like other Russians haven't been banned.

gostsamo 5y ago
Well, you know the joke that the best evidence for the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence is the fact that they still haven't contacted us.

zzzbra 5y ago

It looks like this is actually coming from a satirical source? uh oh

AlexandrB 5y ago

We're entering "Freedom Fries" levels of stupid here. I was born in Ukraine and still have close family there now, but moves like this don't do anything to help. One of the most common tactics for repressive Russian regimes over the last 100 years has been jailing and exiling their own academics and authors. Ironic that western institutions now want to follow in their footsteps.

cs702 5y ago

We all know the famous quote by George Santayana: "Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it."[a] I propose a variant: With every new generation that is born, society becomes more ignorant of the past, which recedes into ever more distant history, until only a minority of educated people, including Historians, remember it, condemning everyone else to repeat the same mistakes. [a] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/634544-those-who-cannot-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/634544-those-who-cannot-rem...

gyosko 5y ago

This is partially true. Yes, Bicocca University DID cancel a 4 lesson course about Dostoevskij, but after the professor went viral on social media they made up their minds and confirmed the course. Yes, it was a very nonsense decision but they DID NOT banned teaching Dostoevskij in the end.

ilSignorCarlo 5y ago
they confirmed the course telling the "professor" (he's actually a writer) that he needed to talk also about Ukranian literature and authors. After this, he decided to simply held his course somewhere else

zozbot234 5y ago

Let's be clear here, he's not being canceled because he was Russian but because he supports Putin's ideas and because he has not distanced himself from what Putin is doing. Public figures also have this kind of responsibility.

ouid 5y ago
What? Fyodor Dostoevsky died in 1881.
itsoktocry 5y ago
>The actual issue is that he has not disclaimed support for Putin's operation in the Ukraine. Why the hell should people have to "disclaim" support of anything? Can you list all the things you disclaim? I need to see if you're a good person.
- diordiderot 5y ago
  It's more like if I specifically ask you if you support the kkk, and you refuse
codedokode 5y ago
Yes, it is definitely Dostoyevsky's fault that he didn't get up from his tomb and didn't oppose Putin.

ilSignorCarlo 5y ago

Italian here: this really happened, but I think that both the tweet and the HN title are misleading. Paolo Nori, an Italian writer, not a university professor, was supposed to collaborate with the university to hold a free 4-lesson course on Dostoevsky. The university originally decided to cancel the course and the writer published a video saying that he couldn't believe what they were doing and that, of course, the decision didn't make much sense. Many people protested and complained and the university went back on their steps, but said that Nori, besides talking about Dostoevsky should've also presented some Ukranian authors. Nori refused because, again, he thinks the request doesn't make sense and also he's not an expert on Ukranian literature and doesn't know any author. It's still an absurd situation, but I don't know if it should be framed as a ban

chrisweekly 5y ago
+1 Thanks for the additional context.
pphysch 5y ago
I doubt that the ultimate motive was to "present Ukrainian authors", because they could have done that by hiring actual experts in this space, or even just giving out free books by such authors. It seems like the ultimate motive was to "ban Dostoevsky" and they pushed until they found a way to do so with plausible deniability. I.e. "We didn't do dismiss you, you just chose not comply with our unreasonable policy changes".
- ilSignorCarlo 5y ago
  no, sorry, it's not like that. Paolo Nori, the writer who was supposed to hold the course, is a well known and loved writer in Italy. Besides being an expert on Russian literature, he's also funny and his lessons are special because he's doing them. The same course on Dostoevsky by any other professor wouldn't have gotten the same attention and interest
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]

tejohnso 5y ago

Cancel culture has reached an absurd, satirical level cancelling an entire culture and nation of people now. And not even just people. The International Cat Federation banned Russian cats from competition [1]. This cat story is something I'd expect to see in The Onion. [1]: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/international-cat-federation-bans-russian-felines-competitions-rcna18595 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/international-cat-feder...

gambiting 5y ago
That's an absolutely absurd conclusion to reach here. Yes a university banning Dostoyevsky is stupid, but Russia has attacked a free independent country and is bombing hospitals and maternity wards. Everything and anything to do with Russia should be currently banned if you have even a sliver of a moral compass. That's not cancel culture, that's having two eyes and a few braincells to go with them.
- baobabKoodaa 5y ago
  > Everything and anything to do with Russia should be currently banned if you have even a sliver of a moral compass. That's not cancel culture, that's having two eyes and a few braincells to go with them. Eh, that is a prototypical example of cancel culture, and your suggestion of re-naming this activity to "having two eyes and a few braincells to go with them" is very insincere and unhelpful.
  - gambiting 5y ago
    Getting rid of any and all ties with a country that is starting aggression in Europe not seen here in 70 years, is cancel culture? Because if yes, then sure, I love cancel culture. We should cancel culture the crap out of Russia, including their cat beauty contests.
    - samus 5y ago
      "Getting rid of ties" is very different from declaring a witch hunt on anything concerning Russian culture. Surely we should also stop using any technology Russian inventors invented or helped invent? Should chemists look for a replacement of the Periodic Table?

unsupp0rted 5y ago

lucidone 5y ago

And Tolstoy inspired Gandhi - shall we posthumously cancel him too?

calyth2018 5y ago

And this post is already flagged. Guess we're desperate for our Two Minute Hate, aren't we?

phendrenad2 5y ago

Hopefully people are waking up the reality that 90% of people can only think in terms of "country A good, country B bad". And hopefully, what that says about our education systems.