A growing controversy over a UCLA law school symposium is rapidly becoming a larger confrontation over the meaning of academic freedom, opening a broader fight over whether university administrators can…
Austin Sarat ScheerPost While the Trump Administration has suffered numerous defeats in its effort to punish America’s leading universities, it has succeeded in many ways in changing the prevailing culture…
Austin Sarat ScheerPost At the start of his second term, President Trump opened fire on some of America’s most prestigious universities. His administration cut off or threatened to cut off…
Robin D. G. Kelley, Substack Most academics in the U.S., as well as activists resisting the genocide in Gaza, are familiar with the case of Professor Tiffany Willoughby-Herard, a renowned…
Austin Sarat Writing in the wake of the 2016 presidential election and anticipating what American life would be like under Donald Trump, M. Gessen offered some rules for surviving autocracy.…
Austin Sarat On July 6, the New York Times published an editorial entitled “A Great University Undermines Its Mission.” I turned to it eagerly, expecting to see a stirring defense…
July 4, 2026, is the 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence. It seems like a moment for this nation’s civic and educational institutions to celebrate. But I detect a…
By Henry A. Giroux This article was originally published by Truthout Universities risk becoming agents of militarized socialization rather than sites of democratic education. What happens to higher education when…
By Ryan Claycamp This article was originally published by Truthout As pressure intensifies, universities have restructured, fired faculty, cancelled classes and limited discussion topics. Students at both the University of…
Austin Sarat ScheerPost My college, Amherst College, held its Commencement on Saturday, May 23. Like similar events across the country, our ceremony marks a new beginning for the graduates. But…
Jim Mamer ScheerPost History is not old, especially with people still living with its consequences. Delicia Turner Sonnenberg Comments on Directing August Wilson’s Fences 2026 Part One Available Here Part…
Jim Mamer ScheerPost The purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions, to say…
Austin Sarat ScheerPost As the school year winds down on college campuses across the country, it seems clear that 2025-26 was not a great time for free speech in the…
Shamai Leibowitz Informed Comment I am a Jewish American-Israeli, and a veteran of the IDF. But according to the University of Michigan administration, I am someone who needs to be…
In recent years, diversity has become both a touchstone for judging colleges and universities and a lightning rod for critics. Colleges seek to attract students by advertising the demographic diversity…
