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Kirsten Weld

@kirstenweld.bsky.social
955 followers 661 following 50 posts

History professor, author of PAPER CADAVERS, co-president of Harvard’s AAUP chapter

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Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 5h
Soooo how did signing that agreement work out Brown?
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AAUP @aaup.org · 05/10/2026
🚨🚨🚨 BREAKING: The AAUP is suing the Trump administration over new policies that threaten green card applicants with family separation. 1/
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Kirsten Weld @kirstenweld.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Today, on appeal, the Trump administration will try once more to defend its blatantly illegal & unconstitutional campaign of retribution against Harvard. @aaup.org, AAUP-Harvard, and UAW first sued to stop it — and won in federal court. Here’s hoping the First Circuit upholds that decision.
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Ryan Doerfler @ryandoerfler.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Academic freedom cannot survive in a world in which “financial exigency” are magic words. This is the fight of the next decade.
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Isaac Kamola @isaackamola.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
@aclu.org & @amnesty.org just published a massive report "Student Speech Under Attack." 300pp & 2 years in the making it offers the definitive account of how the speech of students (faculty and staff) was silenced, and continues to be policed, on campus. @aaup.org www.aclu.org/publications...
aclu.org
"Student Speech Under Attack: Suppression of Pro-Palestine Speech and Dissent on Campus" | American Civil Liberties Union
"Student Speech Under Attack: Suppression of Pro-Palestine Speech and Dissent on Campus," an ACLU and Amnesty International USA research report, documents the heavy-handed responses by certain univers...
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Kirsten Weld @kirstenweld.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
In response to their Cold War dictatorships’ widespread practice of forced disappearance, Latin Americans developed the legal remedy — the writ of habeas data — for precisely this kind of situation, e.g. to compel regimes to reveal info about people killed or secretly detained.
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Asheesh Kapur Siddique @asheeshks.org · 16/09/2026
More than any higher ed development in recent memory, institutional subsidies for AI at R1 universities prove that austerity is a choice. It is not “too expensive” to invest in a humanities research infrastructure; rather, it is a choice that R1 universities make not to & subsidize AI instead.
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Niko Bowie @nikobowie.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Boston is a union town
Marchers in Boston’s Labor Day ParadeMarchers in Boston’s Labor Day ParadeMarchers in Boston’s Labor Day ParadeMarchers in Boston’s Labor Day Parade
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Kirsten Weld @kirstenweld.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
We’re out here for Labor Day!
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Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 03/09/2026
Important piece by @serenamayeri.bsky.social and Amanda Shanor on the Trump administration's assault on academic freedom. College Presidents, Don’t Be Fooled by Linda McMahon www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | College Presidents, Don’t Be Fooled by Linda McMahon
Her open letter to American universities is a trap.
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Jason Read @jasonread.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
The dream of "be your own boss" meets the reality of "be your own scab." www.nytimes.com/2026/08/22/b...
nytimes.com
Harvard Is Selling a $699 Course Taught by A.I. Clones of Its Faculty (Gift Article)
To create a new bootcamp for entrepreneurs, Harvard Business School made A.I. avatars of its instructors.
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Cas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
To people outside of academia, 10% might not sound that much — and, tbh, I don’t understand why anyone would come here to study — but these 10% of foreign students “subsidize” a much larger group of U.S. students, who will face fewer professors and programs at higher costs.
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Julia Rose Kraut @juliarosekraut.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Honored to join Ellen Schrecker & Sam Lebovic in submitting the Historians' Amicus Brief in AAUP v. Rubio. 🗃️ The brief focuses on the First & Second Red Scares, & on the development of free speech jurisprudence. Read ⬇️ Grateful to @brennancenter.org & Counsel www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
brennancenter.org
Historians’ Amicus Brief in American Association of University Professors v. Rubio
Historians filed a brief supporting a challenge to the federal government’s policy of arresting, detaining, and deporting noncitizen students and faculty on the basis of their speech and associations.
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Jonathan Feingold @jpygold.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
finally reading the AAUP v. Texas A&M complaint & makes such a joke of the "Woke 1" discourse. If ya want cancel culture go to Texas. Student secretly records & complains abt prof. who discussed gender. Governor says "fire" the prof. A&M Pres. fires prof. (then regents fire him bc too woke.)
71. Governor Greg Abbott amplified this pressure. Responding to the administrative
removals, the Governor publicly demanded more, posting: “Good. Now, fire the professor who
acted contrary to Texas law.” The Governor—who appoints the members of the Board of
Regents—had earlier warned, in connection with a related dispute, that unless the University
changed course, “the president will soon be gone.”19
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Just filed: Our opening brief in @aaup.org v. Rubio, asking the First Circuit to affirm Judge Young's conclusion that the Trump administration's policy of targeting pro-Palestinian protesters for arrest and deportation violates the First Amendment. knightcolumbia.org/documents/ex...
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Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 22/07/2026
A reminder that UC _faculty_ and Faculty Associations — not the universities themselves nor their administrators — are waging this battle in court, demonstrating great bravery and moral clarity.
apnews.com
White House admits it used keywords to kill billions worth of California research grants
Federal agencies that terminated more than a thousand research grants at the University of California last year admitted that they used keywords related to diversity, gender, vaccine hesitancy and COV...
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Jan-Werner Mueller @jwmueller-pu.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
"This wave of anticipatory obedience is all the more egregious because – just as in the debates at Yale – non-leaders might sometimes just know better."
theguardian.com
The federal government isn’t America’s only authoritarian institution | Jan-Werner Müller
Backlash at Yale to its negotiations with Trump shine a light on the danger of smaller authoritarian structures in civil society
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Will Jones @willpjones.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
"The decision by the university’s AAUP chapter to retain outside lawyers is the latest example of faculty members and other groups choosing to fight settlements with Trump in ways that the colleges themselves often seem reluctant to." @aaup.org @yaleaaup.bsky.social
chronicle.com
Yale Professors Vow to Fight Trump if the University President Won’t
The opposition to a potential deal with the government reveals a strategy that Yale groups have spent a year honing.
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Kirsten Weld @kirstenweld.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Incisive rejoinder to the Vanderbilt/WU report on the humanities, by Harvard AAUP’s Dick Moran: www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
bostonreview.net
The Wrong Way to Criticize the Humanities
A recent report, commissioned by the chancellors of Vanderbilt and Washington University, invites further intrusions on scholarly self-governance.
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
many of the faculty that have been fired were critics of the administration - a chilling and shameful episode we should be following, especially those of us in higher ed
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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
What's really astonishing is not the far right authoritarian party doing this, but the near-total lack of <loud public collective action> by university chancellors & presidents to oppose this existential crisis. Almost impossible to overstate how total a failure of leadership this is.
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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Thank you to Daniel Hemel and David Pozen for this. The concept of the Universitas litterarum that emerged in the Middle Ages was a self-governing community of scholars engaged in a quest for truth. What has emerged in the US today is a nightmare that has no relationship with the founding idea.
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Maya Sen @mayasen.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
$6.2M/yr for the endowment manager guy who gets the university a lower rate of return than the S&P 500 Certainly puts the grad union's requests in perspective www.thecrimson.com/article/2026...
thecrimson.com
Harvard Paid Claudine Gay $1.5 Million in 2024 After Resignation, Financial Disclosures Show | News | The Harvard Crimson
Former Harvard President Claudine Gay earned more than $1.5 million in 2024, according to Harvard’s annual tax filings, receiving a higher compensation package in the year after she resigned from the ...
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Katie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
"For too long, the university has ignored the wisdom of the donor class and hired based on academic excellence. Regrettably, this has led to the underrepresentation of discredited viewpoints in elite higher education." www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/wer...
mcsweeneys.net
We’re Diversifying the University by Hiring More Crackpots
“For too long, the university has ignored the wisdom of the donor class and hired based on academic excellence. Regrettably, this has led to the underreprese...
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Alex Parry, Ph.D. @safetyworkhstm.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Academics are, on the whole, dedicated teachers, researchers, and community members who not only prop up regional economies but also care about knowledge and the public good. The demonization of faculty and grad students at all ranks is a travesty.
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Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Important statement in support of Derek Peterson by @aft.org @aaup.org and our AAUP chapters at UM Ann Arbor and Flint: www.aaup.org/news/aaup-af...
aaup.org
AAUP, AFT, Labor Leaders Support University of Michigan Professor Derek Peterson
The AAUP and AFT strongly defend the academic freedom of Professor Derek Peterson and condemn the escalating campaign of political pressure and public intimidation directed at him following his remark...
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Nathan K. Hensley @nathankhensley.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Universities captured by corporate boards drunk on ideologies of growth & expansion trying to turn institutions of learning into “real estate empires”—it’s pathetic + ruinous + ignores the fact that universities don’t need to “grow” they need to attain steady state & persist durably into the future
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AAUP @aaup.org · 24/04/2026
NEW today in the New York Times: In the face of unprecedented authoritarian attacks, the AAUP is building a powerful and militant resistance movement in defense of American higher education, the freedom to learn, and our democracy. Join Us!
nytimes.com
A Professor Union Grows Fast as It Ramps Up Its Fight Against Trump
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Hari Kunzru @harikunzru.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Texas tech now bans students from writing about LGBTQ issues in any form. Mentions of gender identity, orientation etc in textbooks must be skipped. Deafening silence so far from all the brave heterodox free speech absolutists www.erininthemorning.com/p/texas-tech...
erininthemorning.com
Texas Tech Issues Ban On Students Writing On LGBTQ+ Topics
The ban applies to theses and dissertations, and is expected to begin going into effect on a rolling basis.
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Benjamin McKean @blmckean.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
This memo really has to be seen to be believed - it’s total madness www.texastech.edu/downloads/26...
texastech.edu
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vijay iyer @vijayiyer.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
“Most Harvard faculty do not seek an adversarial relationship with their employer. Will that change if our administration continues to treat the faculty as adversaries?“ By our intrepid @aaup.org chapter president, @kirstenweld.bsky.social 🔥 www.thecrimson.com/article/2026...
thecrimson.com
The Faculty Are the Problem, Apparently | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson
Those who want to diminish the faculty’s decision-making authority, or who think universities should be run more like companies, should be careful what they wish for.
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Nathan K. Hensley @nathankhensley.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
“Researchers that have attempted to make the university’s connections –and potential obligations– to the Caribbean explicit say their efforts have been stymied. …“The conversation is not happening,” said Carla Martin, a Harvard professor of African and African American Studies. “We all have tried.””
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Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
The idea that universities ”tend to exclude conservative intellectual traditions” is off base on two fronts: 1) how are “conservative intellectual traditions” relevant to the most of the popular majors and faculty research areas, such as computer science, engineering, the natural sciences?/1
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Kirsten Weld @kirstenweld.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Today!
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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
The national media is eating up this report as justification for perpetuating the lie that universities themselves - as opposed to decades of attacks from the far right authoritarian party - are responsible for eroding trust in higher education. You can almost hear them salivating at the chance.
nytimes.com
Yale Report Finds Colleges Deserve Blame for Higher Education’s Problems
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
"We've ended DEI - but we need you to give $10 million to pay for conservative professors."
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
The obvious answer here is that the student protest movement was broadly smeared as anti-semitic and aligned with terrorists, and a variety of institutions from government, media and the universities acted as if that smear was true, threatening, suspending, expelling and even deporting students.
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AAUP @aaup.org · 01/04/2026
“Faculty members & students continue to speak up & organize to oppose the radical reconfiguration of American institutions launched by the Trump administration & its private-sector allies. Frequently, this has included organizing outside the gates.” — Reinhold Martin & Robert Newton, Columbia AAUP
chronicle.com
Opinion | The Hostile Takeover of Higher Education
Business interests captured governing boards long before Trump.
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
personally I think "Federal Judge Approves Trump Effort to Obtain List of Jews From Penn" is a bad thing to read in the newspaper www.nytimes.com/2026/03/31/u...
nytimes.com
Federal Judge Approves Trump Effort to Obtain List of Jews From Penn
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United Academics @local6741.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
On Saturday, come out with your fellow @aaup.org - @aft.org United Academics Local 6741 colleagues from across the country to say: No Kings. No Wars. No ICE! Find your local protest and a toolkit here: docs.google.com/document/u/0...
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Kirsten Weld @kirstenweld.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
There's a mention here of our successful campaign at Harvard to roll back a similar crackdown on window signage. Even/especially at a time of rising government authoritarianism and institutional collusion, these workplace battles matter.
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Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Another university getting rid of things you could only ever do at a university and replacing them with stuff a 13-year-old can do on a phone
Post from Andrew A.N. Deloucas
@aandeloucas.com:

In line with discussion about the job market, the latest majors being closed at Syracuse University:

Nine majors "sunsetting":
• Classical civilization
• Classics (Greek and Latin)
• Digital humanities
• Fine arts
• German
• Latino-Latin American studies
• Middle Eastern studies
• Modern Jewish studies
• Russian
ALTThe First University in the Nation to Build a Center Dedicated to the Creator Economy
Syracuse University is creating something that doesn't exist anywhere else in higher education.
The Center for the Creator Economy is the first academic center of its kind on a U.S. college campus. Led jointly by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the Martin).
Whitman School of Management, the center reinforces Syracuse University's commitment to bold, forward-looking academic leadership.
By aligning strengths in entrepreneurship, media, communications, athletics and digital infrastructure, the University is charting how higher education can prepare students for the 21st-century economy.
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David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Thousands of institutions abandoned programs, ended or rewrote scholarships, closed down clubs and publications, all in pre-emptive compliance. And you know why? Mostly because they wanted to do it if they thought they could blame someone else for it.
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Joey Fishkin @fishkin.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
This is a genuinely huge, sweeping victory today for the University of California—or rather, for us, its faculty, acting through our faculty associations, while the UC itself maintained a strict policy of deer-in-headlights silence. The Trump admin has given up its appeal of a powerful injunction:
latimes.com
Trump administration drops appeal of court order blocking $1.2-billion UCLA settlement
The Trump administration dropped its appeal of a major higher education case in which a federal judge blocked its $1.2-billion settlement proposal to UCLA over alleged civil rights violations. It will...
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Kirsten Weld @kirstenweld.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Important piece on the history of the US government's ideological deportation policies in light of the outcome in AAUP v. Rubio, including crucial quotes from the courtroom testimony of AAUP-Harvard member Bernhard Nickel:
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