Rejecting Neoliberalism & Neo-McCarthyism at US Universities with Charles HF Davis III

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Charles H.F. Davis III about the increasingly repressive conditions on university campuses, particularly in the context of Columbia University's caving in to federal pressures under the thumb of Trump’s administration. We explore the broader implications of these concessions at the expense of liberalized notions of intellectual and academic freedom, student activism, and the role of universities as sites of political struggle.

Dr. Davis highlights the historical and ongoing repression of student activism, particularly pro-Palestinian movements, and critiques the legal and institutional frameworks that perpetuate these violences. We also delve into the limitations of liberalism in fending off fascist infringement and the active participation of universities in maintaining these structures of domination. We also touch on the historical collaboration between Zionist organizations and U.S. universities, the erosion of diversity and inclusion initiatives, and the broader implications for the future of higher education.

Dr. Charles H.F. Davis III is a third-generation educator, organizer, and artist. He is a faculty member in the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education and director of the Campus Abolition Research Lab at the University of Michigan. His research and teaching broadly explore the racialized consequences of higher education on society, including the role of colleges and universities in limiting the life-making possibilities of Black and other racialized communities.

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Longer bio: 

Dr. Charles H.F. Davis III is a third-generation educator, organizer, and artist committed to the lives, love, and liberation of everyday Black people. Dr. Davis is a faculty member in the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education and director of the Campus Abolition Research Lab at the University of Michigan. His research and teaching broadly explore the racialized consequences of higher education on society, including the role of colleges and universities in limiting the life-making possibilities of Black and other racially minoritized communities. Dr. Davis has produced nearly three dozen scholarly publications, which have been cited in amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court of the United States and included as expert testimony before the California State Assembly. He is co-editor of Student Activism, Politics, and Campus Climates in Higher Education (Routledge) and author of the forthcoming Campus Abolition and Police-Free Futures on Johns Hopkins University Press.

For his intellectual contributions, Dr. Davis been nationally-recognized by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, as a 2020 Emerging Scholar by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, a recipient of the National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship, a 2024 Inductee to the Martin Luther King, Jr. College of Ministers and Laity’s Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College and, most recently, was named a Senior Fellow at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. At the institutional level, Dr. Davis’ teaching and service have been recognized as the 2023 recipient of the John Matlock Cornerstone Award for his contributions to the success of African American students at the University of Michigan and the 2024 Diversity, Inclusion, Justice, and Equity Award at the U-M Marsal Family School of Education.