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Safe Enough Spaces: A Pragmatist’s Approach to Inclusion, Free Speech, and Political Correctness on College Campuses
From the president of Wesleyan University, a compassionate and provocative manifesto on the crises confronting higher education
In this bracing book, Michael S. Roth stakes out a pragmatist path through the thicket of issues facing colleges today to carry out the mission of higher education. With great empathy, candor, subtlety, and insight, Roth offers a sane approach to the noisy debates surrounding affirmative action, political correctness, and free speech, urging us to envision college as a space in which students are empowered to engage with criticism and with a variety of ideas.
Countering the increasing cynical dismissal—from both liberals and conservatives—of the traditional core values of higher education, this book champions the merits of different diversities, including intellectual diversity, with a timely call for universities to embrace boldness, rigor, and practical idealism.
In this bracing book, Michael S. Roth stakes out a pragmatist path through the thicket of issues facing colleges today to carry out the mission of higher education. With great empathy, candor, subtlety, and insight, Roth offers a sane approach to the noisy debates surrounding affirmative action, political correctness, and free speech, urging us to envision college as a space in which students are empowered to engage with criticism and with a variety of ideas.
Countering the increasing cynical dismissal—from both liberals and conservatives—of the traditional core values of higher education, this book champions the merits of different diversities, including intellectual diversity, with a timely call for universities to embrace boldness, rigor, and practical idealism.
160 pages, Hardcover
Published August 20, 2019
23 people are currently reading
210 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 8, 2020
Hell yeah. I am an enormous fan of Michael Roth. A president of a university. Outstanding teacher. Outstanding researcher.
And yes - an old white guy telling other old white guys to sort themselves. Freedom of speech is not their freedom to speak while silencing everyone else who is not an old white guy.
But also, sittting in a bubble of identity politics, talking with people who are just like us - is also not the project of a university.
Clarity. Discomfort. Debate. Productive disagreement. That was - and is - the point of a university.
Roth has made the case for 'safe enough spaces.' And he is magnficently, brilliantly right.
We are lucky to share the planet with him.
This is a book filled with careful and clear thinking. We may disagree with parts of it - but that is the point...
Let's read. Let's think. Let's disagree. And think again.
And yes - an old white guy telling other old white guys to sort themselves. Freedom of speech is not their freedom to speak while silencing everyone else who is not an old white guy.
But also, sittting in a bubble of identity politics, talking with people who are just like us - is also not the project of a university.
Clarity. Discomfort. Debate. Productive disagreement. That was - and is - the point of a university.
Roth has made the case for 'safe enough spaces.' And he is magnficently, brilliantly right.
We are lucky to share the planet with him.
This is a book filled with careful and clear thinking. We may disagree with parts of it - but that is the point...
Let's read. Let's think. Let's disagree. And think again.
August 18, 2019
When considering whether to read Safe Enough Spaces, my mindset was "ought to read," not "want to read." Though I'm decades beyond my personal college experience, I have (often negative) opinions about today's colleges and students; however, my opinions are based on fragmentary insights, the occasional newspaper article or online post describing the latest campus outrage. I'm opinionated but poorly informed. So I decided I ought to read Safe Enough Spaces to be more fully informed on what is the current college environment and how it might be improved.
"Ought to read" quickly became "want to read" because Safe Enough Spaces is full of useful information. On the issues of inclusion, free speech, and political correctness, Roth provides history on how these issues have evolved and then prescribes what might be done to enhance the college learning experience for all students, with a special focus on those students who have been underrepresented in the past. Repeatedly, I found myself stopping to ponder one of Roth's sentences, allowing me to test and then reformulate my own thinking.
Repeatedly, I also found myself re-reading Roth's sentences to figure out what he is trying to say. Roth is an academic; he writes like an academic, and you wouldn't confuse him with Michael Lewis or Malcolm Gladwell. That said, the book is well organized with useful occasional summaries and transitions. The book is challenging reading but not impossible reading.
One insight into the title: Roth carefully builds toward Safe Enough Spaces through his three main topics, inclusion, free speech, and political correctness. He says a college classroom should be a safe space "where students know that, if they espouse unpopular views, they will not be attacked, that there will be no reprisals. Students then feel free enough (safe enough) to disagree with one another and with the professor. To use the old-fashioned term, they can 'unfreeze'--abandon previously held beliefs because they will not be attacked for doing so. We can think of this as 'the safe-enough classroom.' "
Roth immediately says he is not talking about "that oft-imagined place where frightened teachers and undergrads 'walk on eggshells' for fear of saying something that might be offensive to someone else...Many schools are much more concerned about the student as consumer, and many teachers have been convinced that even if their customers aren't always right, they never want to hear that they're wrong. Professors must be encouraged to push back against this creep of the consumerist creed...if their institutions are going to offer truly educational experiences, not just cushy ones that earn high marks in student satisfaction."
My summary just skims the surface of Roth's arguments; Safe Enough Spaces provides much more on why safe enough is just right for today's college students. I encourage others to read his book if they have even a passing interest with defining the most beneficial academic environment. If there are disagreements with Roth, bring them on because they can enrich the discussion. If opposing points of view exist, I not only ought to know them, I want to know them.
"Ought to read" quickly became "want to read" because Safe Enough Spaces is full of useful information. On the issues of inclusion, free speech, and political correctness, Roth provides history on how these issues have evolved and then prescribes what might be done to enhance the college learning experience for all students, with a special focus on those students who have been underrepresented in the past. Repeatedly, I found myself stopping to ponder one of Roth's sentences, allowing me to test and then reformulate my own thinking.
Repeatedly, I also found myself re-reading Roth's sentences to figure out what he is trying to say. Roth is an academic; he writes like an academic, and you wouldn't confuse him with Michael Lewis or Malcolm Gladwell. That said, the book is well organized with useful occasional summaries and transitions. The book is challenging reading but not impossible reading.
One insight into the title: Roth carefully builds toward Safe Enough Spaces through his three main topics, inclusion, free speech, and political correctness. He says a college classroom should be a safe space "where students know that, if they espouse unpopular views, they will not be attacked, that there will be no reprisals. Students then feel free enough (safe enough) to disagree with one another and with the professor. To use the old-fashioned term, they can 'unfreeze'--abandon previously held beliefs because they will not be attacked for doing so. We can think of this as 'the safe-enough classroom.' "
Roth immediately says he is not talking about "that oft-imagined place where frightened teachers and undergrads 'walk on eggshells' for fear of saying something that might be offensive to someone else...Many schools are much more concerned about the student as consumer, and many teachers have been convinced that even if their customers aren't always right, they never want to hear that they're wrong. Professors must be encouraged to push back against this creep of the consumerist creed...if their institutions are going to offer truly educational experiences, not just cushy ones that earn high marks in student satisfaction."
My summary just skims the surface of Roth's arguments; Safe Enough Spaces provides much more on why safe enough is just right for today's college students. I encourage others to read his book if they have even a passing interest with defining the most beneficial academic environment. If there are disagreements with Roth, bring them on because they can enrich the discussion. If opposing points of view exist, I not only ought to know them, I want to know them.
September 14, 2019
This book, by the president of Wesleyan, generally hews to a middle course between the opponents of the supposed PC-culture of college campuses and the champions of identity politics. It’s strongest contribution comes toward the end, when the author proposes respect for “different diversities,” by which he means the need to include religious and conservative perspectives among the conversations of academic communities. Religious and conservative voices routinely make this point, but it’s assertion by a secular progressive is unusual in my experience.
April 10, 2024
I enjoyed Roth’s vision of a pragmatic approach to college administration. I share his concern about the commercialization of higher education especially when that comes at the expense of inclusion. At some level I can see his equivalency but it is not always a zero sum game as a dollar spent on food quality is not always available to be spent on an LGTBQ resource center (although that also raises how colleges curate and grow their development lists). Where this book shines is laying out a vision of college education that may not appeal to everyone but is centered on ensuring rigorous and inclusive college environments. Perhaps through his role as a president he’s learned you can’t please everyone but as a teacher he’s learned about challenging structures that marginalize students.
September 5, 2019
The author asks compelling questions, and comes to a nuanced conclusion about the use of affirmative action-esque ideas to support conservative and religious thought on campus. Along the way, the book wanders a decent bit, laying out the history of safe spaces and political correctness, critiquing all the while.
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February 22, 2020Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Mr. Roth begins at the argument that higher education is beneficial and desired, that the purpose of higher education is to not only educate a person for a career path, but also to teach students reasoning skills, help them grow as people and community members, and expose them to diversity of thought and experience. Any criticism of higher education, or suggestion that higher education is not in all cases a positive aspiration, he argues, stem from misunderstanding, envy of achievement and access, political bias and fearmongering. Roth then delves into the most vocal criticisms against higher education that are found today, explaining why all those criticisms are invalid.
I was very intrigued by the concept of this book. Earlier this year I read Heather MacDonald’s The Diversity Delusion, and felt that this volume would provide a nice inside-the-system counterpoint to her decidedly critical volume. Unfortunately, though Roth’s espoused philosophy was quite utopian and very appealing, after finishing the book I was simply more convinced about the truth found in MacDonald’s volume. Rather than dismantling the criticisms expressed against higher education, Roth found a way to explain and (in his point of view) validate the reasons behind the controversial aspects of higher education he examines. His belief seems to be that the reason people don’t agree with all the changes to higher education are that they don’t actually understand the reasoning or politics of the changes – or how it is to really be a college student in today’s world, facing today’s challenges – and that this book, and his explanations, should clear up any lingering confusion or hostility to what are clearly the best, most benevolent, most open-minded, nurturing of spirit and emotionally healthy policies that are being developed to help educational establishments adjust to a changing, complicated, modern world.
I do feel that the positive, uplifting experience Roth insists he and others in administrative positions are building ignores issues that have been documented to occur on campuses across the U.S., but Roth’s perspective of why changes to curricula have been made and his accounting of how higher education is adapting to new concepts of what ‘education’ should mean, are well-explained. Roth’s desire and determination to do right by students, faculty, and facilities is unquestionable. Unfortunately, his beliefs about what is ‘right’ aren’t necessarily ones that all would agree with – and at some point, it’s not a matter of not understanding!
Structurally, the book has a tendency to wander as Roth explores history, current events, political and judicial arguments and published theories and articles before he folds that knowledge into how he believes a topic affects campus life and policy. While the narrative seems a bit far-ranging occasionally, the breadth of exploration is actually intriguing and educational. Politically, Roth makes no bones about his dislike of President Trump and the policies inferred and espoused by his administration, and that does color the text and clearly inform his thinking. I, personally, would have preferred a less politically charged approach to the issues examined.
In the end, while I still maintain a skepticism of whether modern higher education is worth the price tag that it carries these days, I will recommend this book. Safe Enough Spaces, especially in the first section on Affirmative Action in education, is worth a read for those who are interested in the thinking behind policy in colleges and universities today.
Mr. Roth begins at the argument that higher education is beneficial and desired, that the purpose of higher education is to not only educate a person for a career path, but also to teach students reasoning skills, help them grow as people and community members, and expose them to diversity of thought and experience. Any criticism of higher education, or suggestion that higher education is not in all cases a positive aspiration, he argues, stem from misunderstanding, envy of achievement and access, political bias and fearmongering. Roth then delves into the most vocal criticisms against higher education that are found today, explaining why all those criticisms are invalid.
I was very intrigued by the concept of this book. Earlier this year I read Heather MacDonald’s The Diversity Delusion, and felt that this volume would provide a nice inside-the-system counterpoint to her decidedly critical volume. Unfortunately, though Roth’s espoused philosophy was quite utopian and very appealing, after finishing the book I was simply more convinced about the truth found in MacDonald’s volume. Rather than dismantling the criticisms expressed against higher education, Roth found a way to explain and (in his point of view) validate the reasons behind the controversial aspects of higher education he examines. His belief seems to be that the reason people don’t agree with all the changes to higher education are that they don’t actually understand the reasoning or politics of the changes – or how it is to really be a college student in today’s world, facing today’s challenges – and that this book, and his explanations, should clear up any lingering confusion or hostility to what are clearly the best, most benevolent, most open-minded, nurturing of spirit and emotionally healthy policies that are being developed to help educational establishments adjust to a changing, complicated, modern world.
I do feel that the positive, uplifting experience Roth insists he and others in administrative positions are building ignores issues that have been documented to occur on campuses across the U.S., but Roth’s perspective of why changes to curricula have been made and his accounting of how higher education is adapting to new concepts of what ‘education’ should mean, are well-explained. Roth’s desire and determination to do right by students, faculty, and facilities is unquestionable. Unfortunately, his beliefs about what is ‘right’ aren’t necessarily ones that all would agree with – and at some point, it’s not a matter of not understanding!
Structurally, the book has a tendency to wander as Roth explores history, current events, political and judicial arguments and published theories and articles before he folds that knowledge into how he believes a topic affects campus life and policy. While the narrative seems a bit far-ranging occasionally, the breadth of exploration is actually intriguing and educational. Politically, Roth makes no bones about his dislike of President Trump and the policies inferred and espoused by his administration, and that does color the text and clearly inform his thinking. I, personally, would have preferred a less politically charged approach to the issues examined.
In the end, while I still maintain a skepticism of whether modern higher education is worth the price tag that it carries these days, I will recommend this book. Safe Enough Spaces, especially in the first section on Affirmative Action in education, is worth a read for those who are interested in the thinking behind policy in colleges and universities today.
August 19, 2019
I wanted to read this book because I went to a University, pursued a Bachelors degree-graduated, and the feeling of having been there and experienced the culture in the university I attended, made me relate to this book. My Mom often asks "how free is free?" And in the second part of this book the author delves into political correctness and then after that goes next into free speech and safe spaces.
I was intrigued by some insights in this book; one was that I had no idea that Kurt Lewin was the person behind the idea of safe spaces. In the title alone, my perception of safe spaces was more practical given that I've worked as a Counselor and engaged in community development projects under a PEPFAR funded program here in Kenya called DREAMS- where the idea of safe spaces relates more to working towards making girls less vulnerable to HIV/Aids. So, I had a rough idea of what the author meant when he talked about the need for institutions of higher learning to create these safe spaces whilst also encouraging thinking and expression of diverse ideas.
This is a book I'd recommend to anyone in higher learning, but not just that category of people, those graduating from high school would do well reading this because I believe it'd help them better understand the next level of their academic endeavor.
Inasmuch as the author focuses on American institutions and draws from his experience in academics, anyone in an institution of higher learning in the world can relate to it, because just like the institutions mentioned here, they too have a culture, policies and every year or semester have new students.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.
I was intrigued by some insights in this book; one was that I had no idea that Kurt Lewin was the person behind the idea of safe spaces. In the title alone, my perception of safe spaces was more practical given that I've worked as a Counselor and engaged in community development projects under a PEPFAR funded program here in Kenya called DREAMS- where the idea of safe spaces relates more to working towards making girls less vulnerable to HIV/Aids. So, I had a rough idea of what the author meant when he talked about the need for institutions of higher learning to create these safe spaces whilst also encouraging thinking and expression of diverse ideas.
This is a book I'd recommend to anyone in higher learning, but not just that category of people, those graduating from high school would do well reading this because I believe it'd help them better understand the next level of their academic endeavor.
Inasmuch as the author focuses on American institutions and draws from his experience in academics, anyone in an institution of higher learning in the world can relate to it, because just like the institutions mentioned here, they too have a culture, policies and every year or semester have new students.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.
December 28, 2024
This book was at its best when Roth was speaking from experience or sharing his own opinions. I enjoyed his perspective on the free market approach and how it could drown out historically unheard voices on campuses, and the history that he provided for each issue regarding free speech on college campuses and the common rhetoric used. However, Roth often repeated himself, especially in his history sections, and the book got really wordy at times. But, his conclusions, drawn from experience and knowledge, are well worth it, especially as he attacks the common viewpoints of other free speech enthusiasts. I wished throughout that he would include more of his own arguments, though the ending, which was mostly his own viewpoints, was satisfying.
Because I'm reading it for a project, I got the advantage of taking notes, and the book made me pose a lot of questions for future research and the atmosphere of my own campus. Roth also examines media, and why/how it covers what it does, from the interesting angle of also addressing the decline in local media funding and why it is important (something I, as a journalist, appreciated.)
This was a worthwhile read and helpful for my project research. Roth made a lot of fascinating points about free speech on college campuses, and came at it from a nuanced and valuable perspective. It will be interesting to see how things fall in the upcoming administration compared to when this book was written.
Because I'm reading it for a project, I got the advantage of taking notes, and the book made me pose a lot of questions for future research and the atmosphere of my own campus. Roth also examines media, and why/how it covers what it does, from the interesting angle of also addressing the decline in local media funding and why it is important (something I, as a journalist, appreciated.)
This was a worthwhile read and helpful for my project research. Roth made a lot of fascinating points about free speech on college campuses, and came at it from a nuanced and valuable perspective. It will be interesting to see how things fall in the upcoming administration compared to when this book was written.
December 20, 2019
If you’re in the field as an academic, the issues of free speech that Roth reviews—inclusion, political correctness, safe-spaces, and trigger warnings—are well-known. While he provides an adequately contextualized discussion, his suggestion that we take a pragmatic approach to making universities “safe-enough” spaces for all students to be able to learn without fear of intimidation, or worse, may seem obvious to many. Unfortunately, to warriors on each side of the debates over free speech, it probably will be viewed as pablum.
February 9, 2020
Safe Enough Spaces gave insight to the concepts of Safe Spaces on college campuses and how they work with the First Amendment. It was very informative but also a little unrealistic in the author’s expectations of the speakers coming to campuses. There are a lot of valid points, and I learned a lot about why campuses hesitate to define spaces as “safe spaces”. I really enjoyed Chapter 3 when the focus shifted more to how to work with safe spaces and why students actually want them as opposed to the general issues with them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 8, 2020
Highly relevant and topical book. It’s a must read and I fell in love with it. I recommend this book for everyone. Where is a safe space? Is there such thing as one? Do we need one? Read and find out what we should be doing with them.
June 4, 2023
The book was well written and interesting. I don't understand how Roth's policies on the chalk ban is not the direct opposite of what he is writing in his book about the importance of his students' free speech.
August 9, 2019
This man knows not what he speaks of, a hypocrite.
April 9, 2020
The book is a product of the writer's time reference. This isn't a book that will be read in a decade or two, it's just in large part a regurgitation of mainstream liberal ideals. On one hand, he rails against the right for its use of the term 'politically correct' without qualification, on the other hand, he has no issue with tossing out significantly more vitriolic terms like 'racist, sexist homophobe' without any qualification. The term pragmatist is difficult to understand, as none of what he writes is particularly pragmatic unless you take a very loose rendition of the term pragmatic, which I guess falls right in line with pragmatic ideals of relativism.
Towards the end of the book, he explains how he goes to a Jewish prayer meeting to pay respects for his father, and how as an atheist it's ok because it's all about being there with other people. This is a very pragmatic approach to faith, take something deeply rooted in people's convictions and make a mockery of it by participating as you find it useful...
Towards the end of the book, he explains how he goes to a Jewish prayer meeting to pay respects for his father, and how as an atheist it's ok because it's all about being there with other people. This is a very pragmatic approach to faith, take something deeply rooted in people's convictions and make a mockery of it by participating as you find it useful...
December 29, 2023
I thought this took a bit too long to get to the point but I appreciated the point once we got there. This covered a lot of familiar ground for me but the nuance presented was welcome. There is a lot of noise these days coming from the extremes but I believe most of us, when we take the time to learn about an issue, will find ourselves closer to the center, and at the very least able to understand the other side even if we can’t see ourselves ever being in agreement. Free speech like any other issue, can’t be framed in absolutes. The concept of “safe enough” is certainly an intriguing one.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews