Think About It

How can universities allow more students from more backgrounds gain access to what continues to be the surest way of attaining economic success? How do different ethnic groups fare in college -- and what does it mean that some groups attain 'hypermobility' while others seem to lag behind? I spoke with Van C. Tran, who is Associate Professor of Sociology at the Graduate Center at CUNY and who researches the incorporation of Asian and Latino immigrants and their children into American society.

Uli Baer teaches literature and photography as University Professor at New York University. A recipient of Guggenheim, Getty and Humboldt awards, in addition to hosting "Speaking of…” he hosts (with Caroline Weber) the podcast "The Proust Questionnaire” and is Editorial Director at Warbler Press. Email [email protected]; Twitter @UliBaer.

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Where does our country's deep commitment to free speech come from? Stephen Solomon researched the range of political speech before the adoption of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights to chronicle years of robust and often controversial speech. Solomon is the author of Revolutionary Dissent: How the Founding Generation Created the Freedom of Speech, Associate Director of NYU's Journalism Institute, and the founding director of the firstamendmentwatch website. 

Uli Baer teaches literature and photography as University Professor at New York University. A recipient of Guggenheim, Getty and Humboldt awards, in addition to hosting "Speaking of…” he hosts (with Caroline Weber) the podcast "The Proust Questionnaire” and is Editorial Director at Warbler Press. Email [email protected]; Twitter @UliBaer.

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Should the government intervene when there’s a speech controversy on campus? Or should universities be allowed to set their own rules, like other associations such as clubs, homeowner associations or churches? Jacob Levy of McGill University has written extensively about the tension between the idea that the state grants or restrict our liberties, while allowing private associations to set their own rules for their members. When is the right moment for the state to interfere in a group's rules?

Uli Baer teaches literature and photography as University Professor at New York University. A recipient of Guggenheim, Getty and Humboldt awards, in addition to hosting "Speaking of…” he hosts (with Caroline Weber) the podcast "The Proust Questionnaire” and is Editorial Director at Warbler Press. Email [email protected]; Twitter @UliBaer.

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Self-appointed watchdog groups rank colleges on free speech. Legislatures want to punish universities that don’t uphold free-speech in ways they define. Is there really a crisis? Are students less committed to free speech that earlier generations? Are people allowed to say what they want, or do faculty and students self-censor so they're not challenged and canceled? I spoke with Jeffrey Sachs of Acadia University who teaches political science and has written extensively on the topic.

Uli Baer teaches literature and photography as University Professor at New York University. A recipient of Guggenheim, Getty and Humboldt awards, in addition to hosting "Speaking of…” he hosts (with Caroline Weber) the podcast "The Proust Questionnaire” and is Editorial Director at Warbler Press. Email [email protected]; Twitter @UliBaer.

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Free speech is hotly debated around the world today -- and will it be saved by the U.S. Supreme Court? Professor Eric Segall is skeptical about putting our faith and our fate in the hands of nine black-robed justices placed for a lifetime on the Court. He questions the outsized role of judges to overturn laws, which should only happen, he says, when there is clear and convincing evidence of an "irreconcilable variance" between the law and my constitutional rights). Is there a better way?

Uli Baer teaches literature and photography as University Professor at New York University. A recipient of Guggenheim, Getty and Humboldt awards, in addition to hosting "Speaking of…” he hosts (with Caroline Weber) the podcast "The Proust Questionnaire” and is Editorial Director at Warbler Press. Email [email protected]; Twitter @UliBaer.

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How can different democracies define free speech differently? In many democracies, speech is regulated differently : in the US hate speech is protected but not child pornography, political speech is protected but not defamation. In other democracies, Holocaust denial or incitement of racial hatred is not protected by the state. I spoke with Adrienne Stone, one of the world's experts on these different approaches to speech. Dr. Stone is Professor at the University of Melbourne in Australia. 

Uli Baer teaches literature and photography as University Professor at New York University. A recipient of Guggenheim, Getty and Humboldt awards, in addition to hosting "Speaking of…” he hosts (with Caroline Weber) the podcast "The Proust Questionnaire” and is Editorial Director at Warbler Press. Email [email protected]; Twitter @UliBaer.

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Fake News. Post-truth. Alternative Facts. Conspiracies. Lies, lies, lies. We are living in a disorienting time when truth, it seems, is up for grabs. In Democracy and Truth: A Short History, Sophie Rosenfeld explains that a crisis of truth is not new, and that democracy has always (at least in its modern forms) had to find a way to mediate expert knowledge (of the elites) with the wisdom of the crowds and common sense. Rosenfeld is Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania.

Uli Baer teaches literature and photography as University Professor at New York University. A recipient of Guggenheim, Getty and Humboldt awards, in addition to hosting "Speaking of…” he hosts (with Caroline Weber) the podcast "The Proust Questionnaire” and is Editorial Director at Warbler Press. Email [email protected]; Twitter @UliBaer.

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"I want to help the field of education realize its potential to help realize all Americans' potential." Dr. Liliana Garces was co-counsel in presenting amicus briefs to the Supreme Court of the United States. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin and Affiliate Faculty at the University of Texas School of Law. Her research is on access, diversity, and equity in higher education, and the use and influence of social science research in law. 

Uli Baer teaches literature and photography as University Professor at New York University. A recipient of Guggenheim, Getty and Humboldt awards, in addition to hosting "Speaking of…” he hosts (with Caroline Weber) the podcast "The Proust Questionnaire” and is Editorial Director at Warbler Press. Email [email protected]; Twitter @UliBaer.

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In several books, Jessica Benjamin provides a corrective to the modern Western conception of subjectivity. Rather than privileging the development of autonomy and independence, Benjamin asks whether there’s a part of humanity that is in fact deeply relational but gets buried in the stories and practices we impose on ourselves to grow up. I spoke with Benjamin about a different way of orienting our life stories and why a belief in the repairability of the world is essential for our survival.

Uli Baer teaches literature and photography as University Professor at New York University. A recipient of Guggenheim, Getty and Humboldt awards, in addition to hosting "Speaking of…” he hosts (with Caroline Weber) the podcast "The Proust Questionnaire” and is Editorial Director at Warbler Press. Email [email protected]; Twitter @UliBaer.

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The British romantic poet William Wordsworth is best known for his moving evocations of nature, his celebration of childhood, and his quest to find a shared humanity. He’s also considered the first modern poet because he turns his mind's workings into the subject of his poetry. That hadn’t happened before. What Wordsworth may really be about, I discussed with brilliant poet and critic Maureen McLane, is whether we trade in the ecstasies of youthful exuberance for a measured but diminished life.

Uli Baer teaches literature and photography as University Professor at New York University. A recipient of Guggenheim, Getty and Humboldt awards, in addition to hosting "Speaking of…” he hosts (with Caroline Weber) the podcast "The Proust Questionnaire” and is Editorial Director at Warbler Press. Email [email protected]; Twitter @UliBaer.

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