Michigan Prof’s Only Offense: Humanizing Palestinians
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…
Williams College Case Is a Test of How Far Colleges Are Willing to Go in the Name of Diversity
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…
Amendments Protecting Pro-Palestine Speech in California Schools Face Backlash
By Marianne Dhenin This article was originally published by Truthout Educators and activists are fighting for changes to a bill they say was “designed to create an atmosphere of fear.”…
Exposing the University of Michigan’s Violence Against Chinese Scholars
Megan Russell for Codepink On Friday night, CODEPINK and the local University of Michigan community gathered to hold a vigil in honor of UM researcher Dr. Danhao Wan on the…
From BBC to ICE Detention: The Arrest of Yousof Azizi and the Collapse of “Free Speech”
Iranian academic and media commentator faces deportation as supporters warn of political retaliation against anti-war voices Joshua Scheer Inspired by the growing campaign to free Yousof Azizi, I looked deeper…
How Corporatism Paved the Way For The MAGAcademy Takeover of Higher Education
How Corporatism Paved the Way for the Hostile Takeover of Higher Ed Nolan Higdon Note: The following is an excerpt from the book MAGAcademy. By purchasing the book through Project…
Academic Freedom May Be Flourishing at America’s Best Liberal Arts Colleges, But They Are Still in Danger of Losing Their Distinctiveness
Austin Sarat ScheerPost In late January, Professor Ian Bogost published a very flattering account of four premier liberal arts colleges: Amherst (where I teach), Davidson, Smith, and Vassar. As he…
Florida Has Deemed All Existing Intro to Sociology Textbooks Illegal and Produced Its Own
Zachary Levenson for Truthout Imagine the following scenario: You’re teaching Introduction to Sociology at a community college in Florida, and today, you’re trying to explain the well-documented pay gap between…
Private Eyes on Campus: The New Era of Student Monitoring and Suppression
Posted by Joshua Scheer A few weeks ago we had a chance to speak with Hannah Epstein. Sadly, as the American empire descends into its last gasps, we have fallen…
America Faces a New “Sputnik” Moment, and Our Future Depends on Our Colleges and Universities
By Austin Sarat for ScheerPost It is hardly news that America’s colleges and universities are in serious trouble. Declining public confidence, politically motivated attacks, and the withdrawal of government funding…
University of Texas Regents Approve Limits on Teaching ‘Unnecessary Controversial Subjects’
Opponents warned the policy’s vagueness could push professors to self-censor and leave students less prepared for the workplace.
“Tyrants Hate Truth”: Austin Sarat on the New War Against Academic Freedom
Welcome to Academic Freedom on Life Support, hosted by Joshua Scheer. In this episode, we speak with Austin Sarat, the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at…
When a Deportation Case Falls Apart, Free Speech Is on Trial
Posted by Joshua Scheer In an era of hypercharged politics and hardened rhetoric around immigration, it is easy for individual cases to blur into abstraction. But every so often, one…
Does Careerism Threaten Academic Commitment and Academic Freedom?
By Austin Sarat and Leah Schmalzbauer A survey of employers released on Jan. 13 brought bad news for college students entering the workforce in 2026. Among its worrisome results, “Small…
Academic Freedom: Trump’s University Blackmail Results
The Trump administration has reached deals with six universities following the withholding of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds and grants.