When colleges think Plato is too gay | The Gray Area
Who gets to decide what’s taught in college classrooms? And should the answer be different at private colleges than at public universities?
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In today’s episode, guest host Avishay Artsy speaks to philosophy professor Martin Peterson about why Texas A&M University asked him to stop teaching part of Plato’s “Symposium.” The two discuss academic freedom, who gets to decide what’s taught in university classrooms, and the value of Plato’s writing. The episode explores what happens when politics and educational values collide on campus.
Host: Avishay Artsy, Vox Supervising Producer
Guest: Martin Peterson, Professor of Philosophy at Texas A&M University
00:00 Intro
01:21 Why Professor Peterson was asked to revise his syllabus
03:02 Why Plato’s Symposium still matters
05:39 What do students expect to read in this class?
06:01 Texas A&M’s new policy
09:46 How professors responded
19:52 How students responded
22:25 Why is Professor Peterson resigning?
30:06 How Professor Peterson’s research connects to his decisions
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@michaelkinahan1829
June 20, 2026 at 7:39 am
He is correct, the far right ideology push has gone too far. But so too can be said for the far left ideological push! It is just as bad! Our young generations are pushed and pulled in the middle of this and suffer most, while the silent majority in the middle sit back and say nothing
@oqkdsi
June 20, 2026 at 7:39 am
The Symposium was written when Ancient Greece was becoming decadent already. The high times had passed.
@gettaasteroid4650
June 20, 2026 at 7:39 am
What's next? Is Texas A&M going to ban Saint Thomas and his secret twin?
@TK3-57
June 20, 2026 at 7:39 am
Blah blah blah blah. I took a poop and it was brown, a better colour than “the grey area”?!?!?!?!?
@gettaasteroid4650
June 20, 2026 at 7:39 am
Yeah Right, they don't like that Socrates' greatest teacher of all time is a WOMAN! They're censoring ancient animism really, Androgyny or "Androgenoi" literally translates to "from the moon" however Aristophanes explains human autochthony as sown in the ground like grasshoppers (tettigon gēgeneis). I think the Professor here suggesting that Plato was more conservative after the Symposium might just be a reference to Plato's Laws, which advocates for Marriage as a social duty, however it should be pointed out that Plato at the same time is advocating for equal education
@betterchapter
June 20, 2026 at 7:39 am
Plato: Our society's rolemodels should be wise and good people.
Our society:
@jewishjah7186
June 20, 2026 at 7:39 am
Texas a&m is a garbage school😂
@sandelic1
June 20, 2026 at 7:39 am
State of universities in USA is beyond the pale.
Taken over by ignorant liberals.
@FD-mg5eo
June 20, 2026 at 7:39 am
USA = Idiocracy.
Sincerely, Europe.
@nedks11
June 20, 2026 at 7:39 am
If that title is correct, then that really is fantastic. Plato is still so incredibly relevant