The essays collected in this book honor H. Chandler Davis (1926-2022), a University of Michigan faculty member who became a symbol of principled dissent when suspended and fired in 1954 for refusing to testify about his political affiliations to the House Un-American Activities Committee. Invoking academic freedom and First Amendment protection, Davis was convicted of contempt of Congress. He served six months in prison before moving to Canada, where he established himself as a brilliant mathematician, prolific writer, and ardent and much beloved advocate for justice.

At a time when a new McCarthyism has come roaring back to threaten free inquiry everywhere, the 12 contributors to this book argue against censorship, the suppression of protest, the policed and surveilled campus, the self-silencing of "institutional neutrality," and other enemies of academic freedom. Also included in this volume is posthumously published work by Davis and by his late wife, the historian Natalie Zemon Davis, which reflects on the importance of facing, and not accepting, authoritarian threats. 

Inspired by Chandler Davis’ courage, integrity, and devotion to the struggle against oppression, injustice, and the persecution of speech, these essays offer crucial insights into the importance of defending intellectual independence, institutional autonomy, and the right to free expression.

Contributors: Michael Bérubé, Juan Cole, H. Chandler Davis, Stefan Hanß, Marjorie Heins, Dima Khalidi, Gene Nichol, Henry Reichman, Ellen Schrecker, Joan Scott, Catharine R. Stimpson, Alan Wald, Silke-Maria Weineck, and Natalie Zemon Davis.

Sing for the pro-Palestinian student activists who have, over these past two years, opened our hearts to the injustice and inhumanity of Israel’s war in Gaza.

This single sentence, concluding a brief commencement address by the University of Michigan’s Faculty Senate Chair, ignited a controversy that simmered for weeks. Professor Derek Peterson had praised the work of female, Jewish, and Black activists who had fought for inclusion, ending with a shoutout to students who protested the university’s financial ties to Israel’s war on Gaza. 

Hours later, U-M President Domenico Grasso publicly apologized, calling the remarks “hurtful and insensitive.” Peterson faced a barrage of threatening hate mail, alongside demands that he be fired and the university defunded. Conversely, a chorus of passionate dissent argued that a college education should equip students for, not shield them from, sharp controversies.

This volume collects commentary from students, alumni, labor organizers, and faculty. Most, but not all, defend Peterson’s right to say what he said, reflecting on questions of academic freedom, repressive notions of what is “appropriate,” the institution’s traditions of moral courage, the danger of assuming a monolithic “Jewish community,” and the Palestine exception to free speech.