An Alleged Case of Textbook Bias So 'Outrageous' That One Student Says 'People Need to Know About It

UPDATE — 2/18/14: After failing to return multiple requests for comment Monday, USC spokesman Wes Hickman told TheBlaze in a statement Tuesday that the school is "committed to academic freedom and a vigorous public discourse."

"Our faculty are free to select texts for their courses and our students are encouraged to raise questions, challenge convention and develop their own ideas," he added.

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A university-assigned textbook that appears to suggest former President Ronald Reagan was a sexist and says conservatives view individuals as lazy and corrupt is under fire from at least one student.

"This is really outrageous," Anna Chapman, a University of South Carolina student in the class, told Campus Reform. "[I]t's so in your face, people need to know about it."

[sharequote align="center"]"This is outrageous. It's so in your face, people need to know about it."[/sharequote]

The textbook, authored by Karen K. Kirst-Ashman, was allegedly assigned reading for the school's three-credit course titled, "Introduction to Social Work Profession and Social Welfare."

The university did not return multiple requests for comment from TheBlaze, but Chapman told Campus Reform no other readings that provided a counter political viewpoint were assigned.

Instead, students in the class were forced to read about "conservative extremes in the 1980s and early 1990s."

Image source: Campus Reform

“Conservatives ‘tend to take a basically pessimistic view of human nature. People are conceived of as being, self-centered, lazy and incapable of true charity,’” the textbook says.

In another section, it says Reagan "ascribed to women primarily domestic functions," ignoring his appointment of Sandra Day O'Connor as the first female Supreme Court Justice and his appointment of Jeane Kirkpatrick, the first female representative to the United Nations.

Image source: Campus Reform

"He viewed American males as rugged individualists who could accomplish almost anything if they tried," the textbook says. "Similarly, he ascribed to women 'primarily domestic functions' and failed to appoint many women to significant positions of power during his presidency."

“I can not even tell you how angry I was when I read that," Chapman told Campus Reform.

Image source: Campus Reform

The textbook further says that wealthy individuals "find that having a social class of poor people is useful."

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