Conference session

Knowledge Under Siege Charting a Future for Universities The university’s biggest threats are not only occurring in fascist and authoritarian countries, but also in traditionally regarded liberal democracies where these attacks follow a similar playbook: "Undermine public trust in institutions that question power, and reward those that remain loyal. The goal is not just to control universities, but to reshape the civic imagination—to erode the idea that higher education should nurture questioning, complexity, and dissent. (Spooner & Westheimer, 2025)" This is most evident in the United States in the current administration of Donald J. Trump’s targeted assaults on “the law, higher education, medical research, ethical standards, America’s foreign alliances, free speech, the civil service, religion, the media and much more” (Edsall, 2025)—all of which parallel a well-worn trajectory to fascism. Among a variety of developments of concern, our current moment features the outright banning of entire areas of study, the abolishment of tenure, and the curtailment of academic freedom, as well as a near ubiquitous push toward performance-based funding (Spooner, 2024). It also features chronic underfunding, international student quotas, and anti-woke sentiment with pushback against equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives meant to permit greater participation in increasingly conservative and authoritarian interventionist states. This session will provide an opportunity for analysis of the current moment as well as strategies for effective responses to it.