Category Archives: Academic Freedom

Institute of Museum and Library Services is Dismantled

Posted on March 31, 2025 by briansandberg

The Trump administration and its so-called DOGE team is now dismantling the entire the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) as part of its ongoing attack on research and higher education in the United States. NPR reports that “The … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Digital Humanities, Higher Education, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Information Management, Museums and Historical Memory, Political Culture, Political History of the United States, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

University Presidents Act to Protect Students’ Rights

Posted on March 31, 2025 by briansandberg

A group of over 570 university and college presidents have condemned the Trump administration’s violations of students’ constitutional rights. The higher education leaders who are members of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration are acting to protect international … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Education Policy, Graduate Work in History, Higher Education, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Political Activism and Protest Culture, Political Culture, Political History of the United States, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Historians Are Defending the Smithsonian

Posted on March 31, 2025 by briansandberg

Historians are acting to defend the Smithsonian Institution and its mission of providing historical research and education to United States citizens through research, publications, and museum exhibitions. The American Historical Association (AHA), the flagship academic association of professional historians in … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Education Policy, Higher Education, History of Race and Racism, History of Violence, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Museums and Historical Memory, Political History of the United States, United States History and Society, Women and Gender History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trump’s Attack on History at the Smithsonian

Posted on March 31, 2025 by briansandberg

The Trump administration has launched a direct attack on the historical exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution museums in Washington, D.C., opening a new front in the ongoing Culture Wars. “The US president, who has sought to root out ‘wokeness’ since … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Education Policy, Higher Education, History of Race and Racism, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Museums and Historical Memory, Political Culture, Political History of the United States, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Unlawful Detentions of International Students in the U.S.

Posted on March 28, 2025 by briansandberg

The Trump administration is deliberately targeting international students at universities across the country on the basis of their political speech. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have already unlawfully detained several international students who were legally in the United States … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Education Policy, Higher Education, Human Rights, Political Activism and Protest Culture, Political History of the United States, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Elite Universities Should Resist

Posted on March 26, 2025 by briansandberg

“President Trump has declared that this country’s leading universities are sites of ‘anti-American insanity.’ He has tried to cut their funding for scientific research. His administration has announced investigations into diversity programs and floated new taxes on university endowments. Brown … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Current Research, Education Policy, Higher Education, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Political History of the United States, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On the Occupation of the U.S. Institute of Peace

Posted on March 24, 2025 by briansandberg

Elon Musk’s so-called DOGE unit has occupied the U.S. Institute of Peace, an independent research institute established by the United States Congress. The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) is one of the leading non-profit research institutes for peace studies in … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Higher Education, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Peacemaking Processes, Political History of the United States, Public History, Security Studies, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

AFT and AAUP Defend the Department of Education

Posted on March 24, 2025 by briansandberg

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), and two public school districts in the state of Massachusetts have filed a lawsuit to block the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle the Department of Education. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Education Policy, Higher Education, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Legal history, Political Culture, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Attack on U.S. Research and Education: French Views

Posted on March 17, 2025 by briansandberg

I participated in a workshop on Guerres de Religion et Changement Climatique (Religious Wars and Climate Change) at the IMéRA (Institute for Advanced Study) in Marseille, France, on 11 March 2025. This was a workshop that I co-organized with Jérémie … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Climate Change, Contemporary France, Current Research, Education Policy, Environmental History, European History, European Studies, European Union, French History, French Wars of Religion, History of Science, History of Violence, Little Ice Age, Mediterranean World, Religious Violence, Revolts and Revolutions, United States History and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World, Women and Gender History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Legal Opinion on Department of Education Letter

Posted on February 26, 2025 by briansandberg

Sonja B. Starr, Professor of Law (University of Chicago) offers a legal opinion on the incendiary “Dear Colleague” letter issued recently by an Acting Assistant Secretary at the Department of Education. Starr assesses the “Dear Colleague” letter: “The Department of … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Higher Education, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Information Management, Political History of the United States, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment