Take a walk on the left side

Jessica Nathanson is an English instructor down at Augustana. On the Statewide news and political scene she’s been operating with relative anonymity. But with her entrance into the Democratic legislative primary in District 12 this year, with the harsh glow of the spotlight upon her, she may find that some of her views and politics are going to be called into question.

As in “What in the hell is she teaching kids at Augustana?”

An article from April 7th’s edition of the Augustana Mirror (page 11) on the topic of the University’s Gay-Straight Alliance campaigning in the community on this year’s marriage amendment has a quote from Professor Jessica. And this quote is such that I suspect it’s going to have several people scratching their heads:
Jessica Nathanson, writing assistant professor at Augustana, believes that society must first examine the institution of marriage.

“It is ownership,” she said. “Marriage is an oppressive institution.”

Nathanson wants society to understand the original ideas of marriage.
Yeeeow. Marriage is ownership? Although I might feel at times that my wife owns my tail when I forgot some major task, I'm going to assume that Professor Jessica is referring more to an oppressive ownership of women. And that article is just a start.

Do a web search on Jessica Nathanson, and it's easy for anyone doing research on this academic that she has a long and well documented history of teaching and writing on an "amped up" form of sexuality and radical feminism that seems a bit out of place for South Dakota and for Augustana.

That being said, they don't seem to have a problem with her views, and I don't have any kids attending there, so I'm not going to quibble over it.

But as she starts to be quoted on such tidbits like "Marriage is an oppressive institution," it's easier and easier for my side to clean our brushes in anticipation of a campaign where it's easy to paint her as a left-leaning academic who doesn't share the values of the voters she hopes to represent.

In the meantime, if there are any College Republicans at Augustana who attended the Gender Studies Conference this past Saturday, I'd love to borrow your notes from when Professor Nathanson lectured. I might need them for a test this fall.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Tonight Augie is hosting a "Gay Marriage Debate"--I'm sure that Prof. Nathanson will be there in full force...should be wild.

Let's also remember that these red flag incidents at one of our state's Christian institutions are all happening under the leadership of SF mayoral candidate Bruce Halverson.
Anonymous said…
Augie is no more Christian than what I am Jewish!
Haggs said…
During the years I was at Augie, it was a very gay-friendly campus. Even before Bruce became president.

I was good friends with one of the leaders of the Gay-Straight Alliance and she said she would always recommend Augie to the gay high school students she knows because it's a safe, friendly environment for them to go to college.

I always thought that was the best thing about Augie. It's a Christian school AND welcoming to any openly gay students. I wish more Christian colleges could be like that.
Anonymous said…
This woman has been manipulated.

And she is manipulating the students....

Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen They were smart guys – very smart. Kirk, a Harvard-educated researcher in neuropsychiatry, worked with the Johns Hopkins Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth and designed aptitude tests for adults with 200+ IQs. Madsen, with a doctorate in politics from Harvard, was an expert on public persuasion tactics and social marketing. Together they wrote "After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the '90s."

Google that book.

http://www.article8.org/docs/gay_strategies/after_the_ball.htm

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46887
Anonymous said…
she has a long and well documented history of teaching and writing on an "amped up" form of sexuality and radical feminism that seems a bit out of place for South Dakota

Some of the most radical feminists I know are South Dakotans.
PP said…
Guys, this isn't a sexual preference thing.

It's a "I'm a candidate for District 12 and I think Marriage is ownership" thing.

Just to clarify.
Anonymous said…
Wow, PP, way to take a quote out of context.

For those of you who didn't click on the link, the next line in the story after her comment is:

Nathanson wants society to understand the original ideas of marriage.

The original idea of marriage was transferring ownership from father to husband.
PP said…
Anon 6:06, do you umpire on your days off? Because I included that portion of her quote.
Anonymous said…
If you check here you can find out she is also involved with "American Studies" http://www.augie.edu/dept/soci/socpg14.htm
Anonymous said…
(6:06 anon)

My goof. Now you address why you're taking the quote out of context, not addressing what she actually MEANT when she said that.
Anonymous said…
Just to clarify:
My comments to the student who interviewed me were in reference to the historical institution of marriage, in which wives were sold to and owned by their husbands. I did not say that contemporary marriages were about ownership nor that they were oppressive. (If I thought that they were, I doubt I'd be celebrating my 12th anniversary next month.)

And all of this was in response to the argument that gay marriages ought not to be allowed because of what the tradition of marriage has been. Once you know the roots of the tradition, I told her, it's hard to make that argument.

Jessica Nathanson
Anonymous said…
I have yet to meet a journalist who can quote someone correctly. Now that she explains herself, I can at least understand her point........
Anonymous said…
So prof, excepting modern revisionists, where in the tradition of marriage did adam and steve hook-up?
Anonymous said…
We should be so lucky to have Jessica Nathanson serve the state. I also think that it is great that our future, the college students inquestion can find a safe friendly environment to attend in a state as repressed as ours.

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