Dangerous Professors: Academic Freedom and the National Security Campus
Feb 2026 · University of Michigan Press
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Since 9/11, American universities have found themselves at the crossroads of national security policy, political pressure, and corporate influence. Dangerous Professors: Academic Freedom and the National Security Campus delves into how this complex environment threatens the traditional ideals of academic freedom and the university as a space for critical thought and democratic engagement.Edited by Malini Johar Schueller and Ashley Dawson, this collection gathers leading voices in higher education to examine the intensifying attacks on professors, courses, and entire academic fields in the name of patriotism and security. Through historical analysis, theoretical reflection, and firsthand accounts—from McCarthy-era purges to the blacklisting of contemporary scholars, the undermining of ethnic studies and Middle East studies, and the growth of contingent academic labor—the book exposes the shifting landscape where universities serve as both sites of resistance and instruments of geopolitical power.Dangerous Professors argues that academic freedom cannot be defended by narrow professional standards alone. Instead, the contributors advocate for a robust, activist vision of campus democracy—one that confronts the intertwined pressures of right-wing surveillance, state security agendas, and neoliberal market reforms. Essays throughout the volume explore the consequences of increased managerial oversight, funding tied to defense interests, and legislative attempts to regulate curriculum, demonstrating how these forces erase critical voices and remake the university’s public role.Engaging deeply with questions of social justice, decolonization, and collective governance, this book is essential for educators, students, and all readers concerned about the future of dissent and intellectual autonomy in higher education. Far more than a chronicle of recent controversies, Dangerous Professors is a powerful call to reclaim the university as a space where, against the odds, democratic ideals can flourish.
Since 9/11, American universities have found themselves at the crossroads of national security policy, political pressure, and corporate influence. Dangerous Professors: Academic Freedom and the National Security Campus delves into how this complex environment threatens the traditional ideals of ...
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About the author
Malini Johar Schueller is Professor of English, University of Florida and author of several books and publications, including U.S. Orientalisms: Race, Nation, and Gender in Literature, 1790-1890 (1998) and the forthcoming Locating Race: Global Sites of Post-Colonial Citizenship (2009).Ashley Dawson is Associate Professor of English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY), and at the College of Staten Island, where he specializes in postcolonial studies. He is the author of Mongrel Nation: Diasporic Culture and the Making of Postcolonial Britain (2007) and coeditor of Exceptional State: Contemporary U.S. Culture and the New Imperialism (2007). Professor Dawson is also a member of the Social Text editorial collective.
Malini Johar Schueller is Professor of English, University of Florida and author of several books and publications, including U.S. Orientalisms: Race, Nation, and Gender in Literature, 1790-1890 (1998) and the forthcoming Locating Race: Global Sites of Post-Colonial Citizenship (2009).Ashley Daws...
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