Amna Khalid
Professor
Department of History
Carleton College
​
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Banished explores academic freedom, free expression, campus politics and the culture wars.
We must do something. This is something. Therefore, we must do this.
Why We Should be Skeptical of the "Politician's Logic" that Drives Campus DEI
September 16, 2024
Diversity Is Great, DEI, Inc. Isn't
What’s wrong with conventional campus DEI initiatives?
March31, 2024
"Entitled to Judge"
A student reflects on freedom of expression on campus.
November 30, 2023
Will Florida's "Stop WOKE Act" Hold Up in Court?
A legal challenge to Florida's "divisive concepts" law
November 1, 2022
Shakespeare, Thou Hast Been Cancelled
Why are so many English teachers refusing to teach Shakespeare?
May 27, 2022
In the Eye of the Storm
How Rhodes College philosophy department resisted attempts to cancel Peter Singer's talk
April 20, 2022
The Skeptic
Michael Shermer was hired to question the conventional wisdom, but he asked too many questions.
March 9, 2022
Does Free Speech Discriminate?
A brief, turbulent history of speaking your mind.
February 10, 2022
The Subversiveness of Humor
Pakistani artist and activist Salima Hashmi talks about the extent to which freedom of expression is eroded under authoritarianism. Americans should pay attention.
January 27, 2022
The Bother With Baby
An annual holiday staple, "Baby It's Cold Outside" has been called misogynistic, sexually aggressive and just plain creepy.
December 30, 2021
Out of Darkness, Into the Fire
Why is a 2015 book about segregation suddenly being banned throughout Texas?
December 8, 2021
Temptations of the West Reconsidered
Khalid reflects on leaving her homeland for the promise of intellectual freedom in the West. Has the West lived up to its promise?
November 3, 2021
Rethinking the Canon: What Makes a Classic?
On the enduring value of Plato,
St. Augustine and Gandhi
October 14, 2021
Expanding the Canon: Are "Great Books" Obsolete?
Is there value in reading the classics at a time when they are increasingly viewed as tools of oppression and white supremacy?
September 1, 2021
Alice Walker Has Been Cancelled
In a rare interview, the Pulitzer Prize winning author discusses the repeated "cancellations" she has faced throughout her career.
August 4, 2021
Whitewashing History?
It’s easy to remove works of art when people are offended by them. But how does erasing depictions of our history help us?
July 21, 2021
Carleton College's New Statement on Academic Freedom
As colleges and universities revise their academic freedom policies, here is what we like about ours
September 3, 2024
"Free Speech is the Language of the Powerless"
A student reflects on the value of disagreement.
March 21, 2024
The Sunshine State Descends into Darkness (Again)
Florida's all-out assault on academic freedom in higher ed
January 23, 2023
Whose Tacos?
Cultural appropriation and the politics of cooking and eating food
June 11, 2022
"Oh Danny, Is This the End?"
Is the musical Grease past its sell-by date?
May 11, 2022
COVID-19: Lab Leak Or Natural Leap?
How politics stymied scientific research into the true origins of the coronavirus
April 7, 2022
The Cartoon is Mightier Than the Sword
All revolutions start somewhere. The artist Badiucao asks: "Why not start from me?"
February 23, 2022
Common Sense, Unmasked
What happens when a state chooses politics over science?
February 5, 2022
Why the Seuss Estate Pulled Six of Its Own Books
They will not sell them here or there. They will not sell them anywhere.
January 12, 2022
Should More Colleges Drop the ACT and SAT?
Not in the name of equity and social justice
December 22, 2021
Fear and Scapegoating in the Time of Pandemics
The surprising connection between pandemics and cancel culture
November 17, 2021
The Cancellation of Dorian Abbot
What's the future of academic freedom when campus climate overwhelms climate change?
October 20, 2021
The "Critical Race Theory" Hysteria
Why anti-CRT legislation is anti-American
September 29, 2021
The Evolution of "Woke"
Lexicon Valley's John McWhorter tracks the shifting meaning of "cancel culture."
August 18, 2021
If It's in the World, It's For Me
Interview with artist Dewey Crumpler​
July 29, 2021
