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

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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Convened by the WashU Department of African and African American Studies and the Center for the Humanities, this Sawyer Seminar explores how Black studies can sustain academic freedom and help reimagine democratic higher education. Through a yearlong series of conversations featuring leading scholars and public intellectuals, the seminar brings together faculty, students and community partners to examine how Black studies offers vital perspectives on power, inequality and democracy while shaping the future of higher education.

See more event dates and topics in this series by following this link.