I didn’t choose this title to slag Americans. I’m rather worried about the extent to which some number of Canadians are co-extensively polarised with American political poles.

Sure, it’s fine to take an interest in American politics. It’s just that American polarisation seems to be playing out particularly in Canadian universities and is contributing to making scholarly discussion difficult, if not impossible in many cases.

I don’t have the impression Americans are generally as interested in our politics the way so many Canadians are interested in theirs. But this is an empirical question, and I don’t know for certain how much, if at all, Canadian politics and scholarship affect either the American political or academic landscapes.

Shorts in this 3-sequence will provide examples and worries about this political polarisation playing out in the Canadian academy, along with efforts people are making to mitigate its destructive aspects. And just as we import political polarisation, the mitigation of that polarisation is also being imported. It’s not an all or nothing situation. At least it shouldn’t be.

So I’m not suggesting we should quell political discussion or commitments or expression. Quite the opposite.