We, the board of the International Society for the Study of Medievalism, condemn ongoing actions of the Trump administration in the USA.
As scholars of the past, we recognize that the actions of the Trump administration follow the same pattern as previous authoritarian seizures of power.
As educators, we cannot do our jobs if our students live in fear, and our education system is undermined.
As an international organization, we cannot operate when our colleagues outside the US are threatened with detention upon travel to the USA, and their countries are slandered as enemies. For those in the US, we affirm that our right – our duty – to academic freedom is incompatible with an authoritarian government.
Our obligation to our students is incompatible with policing their immigration status, gender identity, or political opinions.
We condemn:
- Attacks on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, especially in education.
- Attacks on LGBTQIA+ people, both rhetorically and through government actions.
- The stigmatization of neurodivergent and disabled people.
- The appointment of Elon Musk to the unelected position of head of DOGE and the illegal seizure of personal information from, and the panned closure of, the Department of Education.
- The mass arrest and illegal deportation of immigrants based on racial profiling.
- The use of tariffs and bellicose rhetoric against friendly countries, and the abandonment of Ukraine to Russian invasion.
- Many other unconstitutional, racist, sexist, ableist, and homo/transphobic actions that are too numerous to list.
We call for:
- DEI to continue to be placed at the heart of our teaching and scholarship.
- Solidarity and support for colleagues in the USA and other countries facing persecution for exercising academic freedom.
- Non-cooperation with ICE on our campuses.
- Solidarity for our international colleagues who feel unsafe traveling to the USA.
- The condemnation of Trump’s actions by our professional organizations such as MLA, AHA, MAA, etc., and our unions.
- No use of Twitter or other products or services of Elon Musk’s companies.*
- Academic presentations, publications, and teaching materials to reject the linguistic revisionism of the Trump administration. Trans and nonbinary people exist, transwomen are women, transmen are men, from Denali to the Gulf of Mexico.
*ISSM is no longer active on Twitter/X. Please find us on Threads instead. Our other accounts remain active.
