The Freedom to Learn Op-Ed Series
Amid an unparalleled wave of attacks on academic freedom and public education nationwide – including the introduction of nearly 200 educational gag orders and the adoption of gag order policies in 19 states – PEN America, in partnership with the Washington Post’s Made by History section, launched the Freedom to Learn op-ed series. Made by History is an independent editorial section of the Post featuring content from academic historians on current events. Edited and published by the Made by History editorial team and sponsored by PEN America, the Freedom to Learn series provides historical context for the current assault on public education in the United States and elsewhere.
The Freedom to Learn series consists of ten articles published in the summer and fall of 2022. The series culminated with a public virtual event on October 21, 2022, sponsored by Lumina Foundation, featuring several contributors to the series.
“We’re excited to partner with the Washington Post’s Made by History to support high-quality, well-researched analysis by professional historians on the unprecedented threats to our education system,” said Jeremy C. Young, senior manager of free expression and education at PEN America. “Over the past five years, the Made By History team has developed a consistent track record of excellence in publishing insightful historical analysis of current trends. PEN America is thrilled to support their work and to help educate readers about the extraordinary challenges teachers are confronting today.”
“Made By History is dedicated to publishing rigorous historical analysis of U.S. current events and public debates to help the public understand the current events,” said Diana D’Amico Pawlewicz, a historian of education and Made By History’s series editor for the Freedom to Learn series. “Recent attacks on the classroom curriculum have historical roots, and we are excited to work with PEN America to bring rigorous scholarship by professional historians to shed light on the origins, implications, and consequences of the hyper-politicization of education.”
Read the Op-Eds:
- Jonathan Zimmerman (August 15, 2022): The truth about the history education wars in 2022
- Adam Laats (August 29, 2022): The right has long tried to impose its vision on American education
- Jonna Perrillo (September 12, 2022): Today’s book bans might be more dangerous than those from the past
- Edward J. Larson (September 19, 2022): Crusading for parental rights may cloak other motives
- John K. Wilson (September 26, 2022): Conservatives have turned against academic freedom again. Here’s why
- Eddie R. Cole (October 3, 2022): Limiting academics’ freedom to tell the truth about racism is not new
- Diana D’Amico-Pawlewicz (October 10, 2022): Conservatives’ panic over teachers misses how little freedom they have
- Jeremy C. Young and Jonathan Friedman (October 17, 2022): Today’s book bans echo a panic against comic books in the 1950s
- Karen Graves and Margaret A. Nash (October 24, 2022): For LGBTQ teachers, academic freedom means the freedom to exist
- Michelle A. Purdy (November 16, 2022): As the right fights the teaching of race, a new AP course expands it