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John Inazu @johninazu.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Further reflections on how the WashU/Vandy Humanities Report falls short and what to do in response: johninazu.substack.com/p/this-repor...

johninazu.substack.com

“This Report Fails the Most Basic Standards That We Have”

The questions were worth asking. The report does not adequately answer them.

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John Inazu @johninazu.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

A recent humanities report blames ideological capture and a lack of "objectivity." The university’s real problem is that it lacks a soul. I would much rather confront ideological capture, which could be fixable over time. It is a lot harder to find a soul. johninazu.substack.com/p/the-univer...

johninazu.substack.com

The University Without a Soul

A report on the humanities released earlier this month reveals more in its omissions than in its critiques

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Reposted by John Inazu

Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Charlie Kirk called me a ‘lunatic’ and a ‘prostitute’ and demanded I be deported. Nothing, *nothing*, justifies killing him, or robbing his kids of their dad. We don’t know the identity or motive of the shooter but murder can *never* be the response to political disagreements.

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John Inazu @johninazu.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

This week, tornadoes, celebrations, and Alasdair MacIntyre reminded me that rather than simply shaking our fists at the institutions we don’t control, we have an opportunity to shape some of the ones around us even as they continue to shape us. johninazu.substack.com/p/tornadoes-...

johninazu.substack.com

Tornadoes, Celebrations, and Alasdair MacIntyre

Further reflections on the importance of institutions

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John Inazu @johninazu.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

President Trump's threat against Harvard's tax-exempt status is antithetical to the pluralism necessary to sustain a diverse democracy. johninazu.substack.com/p/confident-...

johninazu.substack.com

Confident Pluralism Still Matters

President Trump's threats against Harvard should remind us that facilitating pluralism means funding pluralism

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Reposted by John Inazu

Niko Bowie @nikobowie.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

BREAKING: On Friday, the federal government issued new demands of Harvard University. The university's lawyers just responded: back off.

April 14, 2025
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
Josh Gruenbaum
Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service
General Services Administration
Sean R. Keveney
Acting General Counsel
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Thomas E. Wheeler
Acting General Counsel
U.S. Department of Education
Dear Messrs. Gruenbaum, Keveney, and Wheeler:
We represent Harvard University. We are writing in response to your letter dated April 11,
2025, addressed to Dr. Alan Garber, Harvard’s President, and Penny Pritzker, Senior Fellow of the
Harvard Corporation.
Harvard is committed to fighting antisemitism and other forms of bigotry in its community.
Antisemitism and discrimination of any kind not only are abhorrent and antithetical to Harvard’s
values but also threaten its academic mission.
To that end, Harvard has made, and will continue to make, lasting and robust structural,
policy, and programmatic changes to ensure that the university is a welcoming and supportive
learning environment for all students and continues to abide in all respects with federal law across
its academic programs and operations, while fostering open inquiry in a pluralistic community free
from intimidation and open to challenging orthodoxies, whatever their source.
Over the past 15 months, Harvard has undertaken substantial policy and programmatic
measures. It has made changes to its campus use policies; adopted new accountability procedures;
imposed meaningful discipline for those who violate university policies; enhanced programs
designed to address bias and promote ideological diversity and civil discourse; hired staff to
support these programs and support students; changed partnerships; dedicated resources to combat
hate and bias; and enhanced safety and security measures. As a result, Harvard is in a very different
place today from where it was a year ago. These efforts, and additional measures the university
will be taking against antisemitism, not only are the right thing to do but also are critical to
strength…

recognized by the Supreme Court. The government’s terms also circumvent Harvard’s statutory
rights by requiring unsupported and disruptive remedies for alleged harms that the government has
not proven through mandatory processes established by Congress and required by law. No less
objectionable is the condition, first made explicit in the letter of March 31, 2025, that Harvard
accede to these terms or risk the loss of billions of dollars in federal funding critical to vital research
and innovation that has saved and improved lives and allowed Harvard to play a central role in
making our country’s scientific, medical, and other research communities the standard-bearers for
the world. These demands extend not only to Harvard but to separately incorporated and
independently operated medical and research hospitals engaging in life-saving work on behalf of
their patients. The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional
rights. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the
federal government. Accordingly, Harvard will not accept the government’s terms as an agreement
in principle.
Harvard remains open to dialogue about what the university has done, and is planning to
do, to improve the experience of every member of its community. But Harvard is not prepared to
agree to demands that go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration.
William A. Burck Robert K. Hur
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP 1300 I Street NW Suite 900 Suite 900
Washington, DC 20005 King & Spalding LLP
1700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20006

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John Inazu @johninazu.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

I joined a number of my WashU Law colleagues in a letter conveying that “more than at any other time in our careers, we believe that the rule of law is facing grave peril.” This post explains my reasons for signing. johninazu.substack.com/p/the-rule-o...

johninazu.substack.com

The Rule of Law Matters

Why I joined a letter about due process and the rule of law

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John Inazu @johninazu.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Here is the text of the talk I gave last week at Duke. I discussed some of the lessons I learned at Duke and some of the ways that I hope Duke can maintain its pluralistic and educational aspirations in the midst of mounting challenges to higher education. johninazu.substack.com/p/pluralism-...

johninazu.substack.com

Pluralism, Particularity, and Possibility

The inaugural Pluralism Lecture at Duke University

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Reposted by John Inazu

Jamal Greene @jamalgreene.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

The specific quote from General John DeWitt, justifying Japanese internment: “The very fact that no sabotage has taken place to date is a disturbing and confirming indication that such action will be taken.”

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Reposted by John Inazu

Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

This "immediate cancellation" violates the law. If the Admin thinks Columbia has violated Title VI by being deliberately indifferent to antisemitic harassment, it has to give Columbia a chance for a hearing first, make findings on the record, & wait 30 days. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03...

nytimes.com

The Trump administration cancels $400 million in grants and contracts to Columbia University.

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Reposted by John Inazu

Mary Dudziak @marydudziak.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Congratulations to Eric Muller @elmunc.bsky.social on his new book: Lawyer, Jailer, Ally, Foe: Complicity and Conscience in America's World War II Concentration Camps, on the US government lawyers who worked at internment camps. uncpress.org/book/9781469...

uncpress.org

Lawyer, Jailer, Ally, Foe | Eric L. Muller | University of North Carolina Press

It is 1942, and World War II is raging. In the months since Pearl Harbor, the US has plunged into the war overseas—and on the home front, it has locked up ...

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Reposted by John Inazu

The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 31/12/2024

“Celebrating a murder and turning an accused killer into a sex symbol and a cult hero, a modern-day Robin Hood, requires an astonishing level of dehumanization,” writes @peter-wehner.bsky.social:

theatlantic.com

An Astonishing Level of Dehumanization

There is no defense of those who celebrated the murder of Brian Thompson.

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John Inazu @johninazu.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

It’s been a while since I’ve had this comfort food (en route to a conference at Wake Forest).

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John Inazu @johninazu.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

Here is the video of my recent interview with Barb Hagerty and Ben Spencer at WashU Law. Ben has such a poweful story and Barb had helped bring it to a larger audience through her excelllent new book: m.youtube.com/watch?v=g1W4...

m.youtube.com

Out of the Darkness: A Story of Injustice and Redemption

YouTube video by WeidenbaumCenter at WashU

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