By Morgan Gstalter - 01/28/21 01:34 PM EST
A professor at the University of Pennsylvania resigned this week after stirring a controversy by using a Nazi salute and expression during a virtual conference.
Robert Schuyler, an associate professor of anthropology and associate curator-in-charge of the historical archaeology section at the Penn Museum, retired on Monday, according to a statement from the university. The move came after the school canceled his scheduled courses for the spring semester amid a review.
Steven Fluharty, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, condemned the “abhorrent conduct.”
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“Such behavior has no place in our academic discourse, which aims to celebrate the open exchange of ideas in an environment that promotes civility, respect, and inclusion,” Fluharty said. “Nazi symbols are antithetical to our values as an institution. The fact that this behavior comes during a period of deep social division in our nation, when too
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Robert Schuyler (bottom right) has retired after using a Nazi phrase and salute during the opening plenary of a virtual archaeology conference. LIZ QUINLAN
Archaeologist who used Nazi salute retires
Jan. 26, 2021 , 3:20 PM
Earlier this month, Robert Schuyler, an archaeologist at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), sparked a storm of criticism when he used a Nazi salute and phrase during the plenary session of the Society for Historical Archaeology’s (SHA’s) annual meeting. Yesterday afternoon, UPenn updated a statement about the incident, saying Schuyler has retired from the university. Kathleen Morrison, chair of UPenn’s anthropology department, also tweeted the news but declined to comment further. Schuyler did not respond to requests from
The letter was co-authored by University of York Ph.D. candidate Liz Quinlan, the speaker that Prof. Robert Schuyler engaged in a brief altercation with at the Society for Historical Archaeology conference before he used the Nazi phrase and salute.
Schuyler’s interpretation of free speech, which skirts culpability through an allegiance to the Constitution, is in fact representative of a broad issue that we currently face with political dialogue: a distorted view of free speech.