R.D.G. Kelley and K-Y Taylor on the Future of the American University

Lessons in Power from Black Studies and the Humanities: Reimagining Academic Freedom in Contemporary Times

The closing gathering of the Sawyer Seminar Series invites attendees to view academic freedom not only as a principle to be debated but also as a collective project. Robin D.G. Kelley and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor will articulate a vision of academic freedom shaped by preceding lecture series topics and grounded in the insights of Black studies and the humanities — one that reinforces faculty governance, protects the conditions necessary for rigorous and independent knowledge production, and affirms the university’s obligation to serve the public good.

Robin D.G. Kelley is distinguished professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History at UCLA.

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor is a professor in the Department of African-American Studies at Princeton University.

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