Extremist UNC Instructor Also Trains K-12 Teachers at University-Sponsored Program
Via John Sailer, Twitter
Kylie Broderick, a UNC history instructor, called fleeing Israelis “cowards” and published an op-ed justifying civilian massacre
She also trains K-12 teachers with “classroom-ready instructional material” on “the modern Middle East”
UNC and NC State sponsor the teacher training program that involves Broderick
We ran a series at the beginning of this year titled, “There’s Something Wrong in Higher Education.” This is a continuation of that theme.
A UNC history instructor who has made many extremist remarks on social media also conducts training for K-12 teachers through a North Carolina-based organization called the National Humanities Center.
In 2021, Kylie Broderick made statewide headlines for posting outrageous remarks about “Zionist dirtbags” right before she was slated to teach a course about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Not only did the university apparently permit Broderick to again instruct students about Israeli history, Broderick was honored with the Maynard Adams Fellowship for the Public Humanities.
Part of that honor involves Broderick training K-12 teachers on, you guessed it: the Middle East. The National Humanities Center, which is based in Research Triangle Park, puts on the training, and lists Broderick as one of its instructors.
The Center describes its programming for K-12 teachers this way: “Our goal is to facilitate a learning experience that will result in classroom-ready instructional materials. Our instructor pool is comprised of experienced, talented educators and scholars in humanities education.” The Center lists UNC and NC State as sponsors.
In recent weeks, Broderick has:
Called Israelis fleeing their own slaughter “cowards”
Published an op-ed justifying Hamas’s massacre
Pledged to “haunt” policymakers “wherever you go…not one moment of rest for any of you”
Our biggest concern isn’t that one extremist UNC instructor was honored and apparently put back in the classroom after igniting controversy for antisemitic remarks, or even that she’s training K-12 teachers with “classroom-ready instructional materials” on a similar subject.
Our biggest concern is what we don’t know.
The only reason we could write about Broderick is that she’s broadcasting her extremism live on Twitter, and there were news stories written about her doing the same thing in 2021.
How many similar situations do we not know about?
Just like an instructor who has made racist public statements should not teach a class on African American history, one would think that a functioning university would keep Broderick away from future classes about Israel, and perhaps not bestow her with an honor.
One wonders if this is a one-off anomaly, or if it’s part of a broader trend at the university. What care does UNC leadership take to protect Jewish students (and faculty)?
Next week, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) will hold a Congressional hearing to press university presidents from Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania about antisemitism on their campuses.
Perhaps state legislators should start asking questions here, too.
