Previous Lectures and Courses
2026
Beyond the Passion vs. Practicality Dilemma: Career Readiness in and through Liberal Arts Education | Dr. Glenn Whitehouse
In this webinar Dr. Glenn Whitehouse, Director of Core Skills and Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Florida Gulf Coast University, argues that students in liberal arts fields can study what they love and gain the skills they need for success, if institutions help create the conditions to connect passion and practicality.
(Part 1) “The Digital Battlefield of Truth” from Democracy, AI, and the Freedom to Learn: A Survival Curriculum for the 21st Century | Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob
Dr. Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob introduces AI-Enhanced Reflexive Control (AIRC)—a framework explaining how AI scales and modernizes Soviet-era psychological warfare into a system of unprecedented manipulation. Watch.
(Part 2) "The Liberal Arts as Civic Infrastructure" from Democracy, AI, and the Freedom to Learn: A Survival Curriculum for the 21st Century | Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob
Dr. Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob confronts AI-Enhanced Reflexive Control’s (AIRC) most dangerous insight: humans do not process information purely rationally—we seek belonging, meaning, and coherence. Watch.
(Part 3) "Protecting the Freedom to Learn" from Democracy, AI, and the Freedom to Learn: A Survival Curriculum for the 21st Century | Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob
Dr. Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob’s final lecture examines why academic freedom is a strategic target in AI-Enhanced Reflexive Control (AIRC) operations—and a cornerstone of democratic resilience. Watch.
Defense of Youth Voting Rights and the Fight for American Democracy on College Campuses | Jonathan Becker, Yael Bromberg & Erin Cannan
Dr. Jonathan Becker, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Bard College, Yael Bromberg, Constitutional rights litigator, leading legal scholar of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, and Erin Cannan, Bard College’s vice president for civic engagement, as they discuss key findings from the new book, Youth Voting Rights: Civil Rights, the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, and the Fight for American Democracy on College Campuses. Watch.
2025
Call to Action: What Conversations Should We Be Having Now About AI and the Future of the Professoriate | C. Edward Watson
Dr. C. Edward Watson, Vice President for Digital Innovation at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), examines how AI will impact the profession of college teaching and provide strategies faculty may adopt to ensure the future of their profession is one that they want. Watch.
The High-Stakes Game of Freedom to Learn: Do the Liberal Arts Hold a Winning Hand? | Ned Scott Laff, Scott Carlson, Daniel Chambliss & Mary Ruiz
Join Dr. Ned Scott Laff and Scott Carlson, authors of Hacking College: Why the Major Doesn’t Matter—and What Really Does; Dr.Daniel Chambliss, co-author of How College Works; and Mary Ruiz, Chair of AltLiberalArts and sponsor of the Five Disruptive Principles of the Liberal Arts Project, for a conversation on the future of learning and the role of the liberal arts. Watch.
Crackdowns on Academic Freedom: The Transnational Dimension | Aysuda Kölemen & Kerry Bystrom
Dr. Aysuda Kölemen examines the transnational patterns of repression that target academics and academic institutions with a focus on Hungary, Turkey, Russia and the United States. Dr. Kerry Bystrom moderates a discussion linking transnational strategies of crackdown with transnational strategies of resistance. Watch.
(Part 1) The Birth of Academic Freedom in Germany | Nicholas Tampio
Dr. Nicholas Tampio explains how the founders of the modern research university—including Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Friedrich Schilling, and von Humboldt—justified academic freedom to a skeptical public and politicians. Watch.
(Part 2) How Americans Adopted Academic Freedom | Nicholas Tampio
Dr. Nicholas Tampio discusses the twentieth century history of academic freedom in the United States. Watch.
(Part 3) Academic Freedom in the United States Today | Nicholas Tampio
Dr. Nicholas Tampio thinks about how to defend academic freedom in our current moment. Watch.
Agency & Responsibility: Five Disruptive Principles in the Liberal Arts Webinar Series
(Part 1) with Susan Burns, Sophia Brown and Daniel F. Chambliss. Watch.
Engagement: Five Disruptive Principles in the Liberal Arts Webinar Series
(Part 2) with Carol Flint, Maureen T. Cannon and Maria Vesperi. Watch.
Mastery: Five Disruptive Principles in the Liberal Arts Webinar Series
(Part 3) with Brian Cody, Adele Fournet and Juliana Paré-Blagoev. Watch.
Depth & Breadth: Five Disruptive Principles in the Liberal Arts Webinar Series
(Part 4) with Miriam L. Wallace, Jeff Lundy and Sam Kocher. Watch.
Excellence: Five Disruptive Principles in the Liberal Arts Webinar Series
(Part 5) with Grace Keenan, William C. Dudley and Isaac Tellechea. Watch.
2024
Madison Markham | Beyond the Shelves: Tracking and Confronting the Movement to Censor Books
Madison Markham discusses PEN America’s book ban research from the 2023-2024 school year, and what lies ahead.
Uzi Baram | Teaching Against Race and Racism: Addressing Contemporary AntiSemitism, Islamophobia and Xenophobia
Uzi Baram explores how teaching on the history of race facilitates addressing social ills of our times including AntiSemitism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia.
2023
Maya Wiley | The Assault on Critical Race Theory
Maya Wiley, civil rights attorney and activist, discusses the assault on critical race theory, or CRT, as an approach to understanding, analyzing and discussing what systemic racism is how it works and what we can do about it. Watch.
Masha Gessen and Judith Butler | The Authoritarian Assault on Gender Studies
A conversation between Judith Butler and Masha Gessen. Introduced by former New College Student Senate President and current Hampshire College third-year student Libby Harrity.
Michael Sadowski | Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth in the ‘Don't Say Gay or Trans’ Era
Michael Sadowski reflects on his recent TEDx talk, “Safe Is Still Not Enough” and share recent research about the risks facing LGBTQ+ students in K-12 schools in the United States.Watch (Part 1).
David Hogg, Maisie Brown, Evan Malbrough and Brianna Cea | Young People Can Change America: Youth Voting and Political Power
This talk is a part of Student Voting: Power, Politics and Race in the Fight for American Democracy, a collaborative course which was co-developed and is being taught jointly by faculty at Bard College, Tuskegee University, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University and Prairie View A&M University. Watch.
Margee Ensign and Jonathan Becker | Colleges and Universities as Civic Actors
This panel, with Margee Ensign and Jonathan Becker, aims to explore the civic role of academic institutions: How do we define civic engagement? In what ways can colleges and universities serve as civic actors to address challenges locally, nationally and globally? Watch.
Jonathan Friedman | Free Expression and Education: A 3-Part Series
Jonathan Friedman discusses intentions behind state legislators intentions to pass laws to tighten control over—or outright censor—instruction in schools, colleges and universities, particularly when it comes to race, gender, sexuality and American history. Watch (Part 1).