Teaching in Perilous Times

For over forty years, culture wars have swept across the United States. At the outset, they primarily affected the grant programs of federal and then state agencies, and through them, individual creative and performing artists and the institutions that presented their work. Over time, the social, religious, and political interests of culture-war proponents widened to include a much broader range of entities, from libraries to public and private educational institutions serving students at all levels, from kindergarten to graduate school. Now, through the budgeting and regulation of education at all levels of American society—federal, state, and local—individual teachers are also being targeted. There are increasing instances of teachers being told to either avoid certain subjects and terminologies or affirm politically favored ones, often at the risk of being fired or subjected to other punitive measures. The reach and ambiguity of such regulations places academic administrators and teachers in peril as they strive to navigate “gray areas” while providing a rigorous, appropriate, and caring education for their students.

Colleagues have already been coping with these challenges as they spread and intensified across the country in recent years. This session calls for proposals from teachers and academic administrators who have first-hand experience working in censorious environments and are willing to share their insights about how best to proceed among such impediments. We envision brief presentations by a few speakers followed by a moderated, round-table discussion that concludes with ample time for audience questions and comments.