In Higher Education, New Educational Gag Orders Would Exert Unprecedented Control Over College Teaching
In 2022, educational gag orders are being aimed squarely at colleges and universities to exert ideological control over what is being taught and read in classrooms. More
Steep Rise in Gag Orders, Many Sloppily Drafted
Over the last three weeks, 65 bills have been formally introduced in state legislatures across the country, a rate of roughly three bills per day. More
New Stop W.O.K.E. Act Fits Disturbing Pattern in Education Culture War
Governor DeSantis’s Stop W.O.K.E. Act, while undoubtedly aggressive, is no aberration. On the contrary, it is increasingly—and disturbingly—business as usual. More
Scope and Speed of Educational Gag Orders Worsening Across the Country
In the month since the release of our report, educational gag orders have grown more sweeping in scope and become law with increasing speed. More
Here Are Four Things Educational Gag Orders Could Ban
We offer illustrative examples of texts, documents, and discourse that educational gag orders could bar from being taught or discussed in classrooms. More
Facing the Page: PEN America’s Prison Writing Program Takes on NaNoWriMo 2021
In our third year of collaboration with NaNoWriMo, we are supporting 15 incarcerated writers taking on the daunting challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in just 30… More
Four Reasons Why Educational Gag Orders Are Dangerous
As PEN America outlined in its new report, state legislators introduced 54 educational gag orders in the first nine months of 2021; 11 of them have become law. More
Notes on Critical Race Theory: An Essay by Gregory Pardlo
Artist and PEN America Trustee Greg Pardlo writes that Critical Race Theory is "a periodizing frame for our historical moment." More
Nobel Prize to Dmitry Muratov is a Sign that the World Should Unite to Confront Kremlin’s Foreign Agent Law
The Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov is an important step to acknowledge the crackdown on independent media by authoritarian regimes. More
An Online SOS: How Social Media Companies Can Provide Real-Time Support for Targets of Online Abuse
To navigate these terrifying situations, users need to be able to quickly access personalized support in real time. This is where an SOS button and emergency hotline come in. More