U.S. research universities face a uniquely dangerous moment. Radical reform will be required to survive the coming assault. Tl;dr: time to get back (and stick) to the knitting
This essay strikes the right tone and makes the right recommendations. It's especially crucial that the Humanities save themselves by moving away from the strange pathway they've taken over the past three decades. (I speak from Berkeley, the epicenter of politicized thinking in the Humanities).
I took a college course not long ago, during the period when Hamas targeted and killed some Israeli children, women, etc. I spoke to a young black woman who was on Hama's side. She didn't see the irony of a black women supporting a group that targeted people based on race/ethnicity. She just didn't see it. So you have to wonder, what they are learning in college - I thought colleges were supposed to teach people how-to-think. (btw, she was not the only one, but the other woman was muslim, so had a bias in that direction, so maybe that is easier to comprehend.)
This essay strikes the right tone and makes the right recommendations. It's especially crucial that the Humanities save themselves by moving away from the strange pathway they've taken over the past three decades. (I speak from Berkeley, the epicenter of politicized thinking in the Humanities).
Good work, Nils!
People are shocked but it’s been obvious to me for over a decade that this day was coming. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2025/02/grad-school-admissions-trump-cuts/681848/
German leadership in scientific research has never recovered from what the Nazis did to their universities. https://www.science.org/content/article/nih-ban-renewing-senior-scientists-adds-assaults-its-house-research
What’s amazing is that this is all happening out of pure spite: https://www.the-scientist.com/us-universities-reduce-phd-admissions-in-response-to-federal-funding-cuts-72734
I took a college course not long ago, during the period when Hamas targeted and killed some Israeli children, women, etc. I spoke to a young black woman who was on Hama's side. She didn't see the irony of a black women supporting a group that targeted people based on race/ethnicity. She just didn't see it. So you have to wonder, what they are learning in college - I thought colleges were supposed to teach people how-to-think. (btw, she was not the only one, but the other woman was muslim, so had a bias in that direction, so maybe that is easier to comprehend.)