Past Lectures and Courses

2024

Madison Markham | Beyond the Shelves: Tracking and Confronting the Movement to Censor Books

PEN America’s Madison Markham discusses PEN America’s book ban research from the 2023-2024 school year, and what lies ahead.

Uzi Baram | Teaching Against Race and Racism: Addressing Contemporary AntiSemitism, Islamophobia and Xenophobia

Uzi Baram explores how teaching on the history of race facilitates addressing social ills of our times including AntiSemitism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia.

2023

Maya Wiley | The Assault on Critical Race Theory

Maya Wiley, civil rights attorney and activist, discusses the assault on critical race theory, or CRT, as an approach to understanding, analyzing and discussing what systemic racism is how it works and what we can do about it. Watch.

Masha Gessen and Judith Butler | The Authoritarian Assault on Gender Studies

A conversation between Judith Butler and Masha Gessen. Introduced by former New College Student Senate President and current Hampshire College third-year student Libby Harrity.

Michael Sadowski | Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth in the ‘Don't Say Gay or Trans’ Era

Michael Sadowski will draw from his recent TEDx talk, “Safe Is Still Not Enough” and share recent research about the risks facing LGBTQ+ students in K-12 schools in the United States. Watch (Part 1).

David Hogg, Maisie Brown, Evan Malbrough and Brianna Cea | Young People Can Change America: Youth Voting and Political Power

This talk is a part of Student Voting: Power, Politics and Race in the Fight for American Democracy, a collaborative course which was co-developed and is being taught jointly by faculty at Bard College, Tuskegee University, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University and Prairie View A&M University. Watch.

Margee Ensign and Jonathan Becker | Colleges and Universities as Civic Actors

This panel, with Margee Ensign and Jonathan Becker, aims to explore the civic role of academic institutions: How do we define civic engagement? In what ways can colleges and universities serve as civic actors to address challenges locally, nationally and globally? Watch.

Jonathan Friedman | Free Expression and Education: A 3-Part Series

Jonathan Friedman discusses intentions behind state legislators intentions to pass laws to tighten control over—or outright censor—instruction in schools, colleges and universities, particularly when it comes to race, gender, sexuality and American history. Watch (Part 1).