“Intellectual Freedom in an Authoritarian Age”
The annual Davis, Markert, Nickerson Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom is named for three U-M faculty members—Chandler Davis, Clement Markert, and Mark Nickerson—who in 1954 were called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. All invoked constitutional rights and refused to answer questions about their political associations. The three were suspended from the University with subsequent hearings and committee actions resulting in the reinstatement of Markert, an assistant professor who eventually gained tenure, and the dismissal of Davis, an instructor, and Nickerson, a tenured associate professor.

The 35th speaker for this year's event will be Ruth Ben-Ghiat. Ruth Ben-Ghiat is Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University. She writes about fascism, authoritarianism, propaganda, and democracy protection. She is the recipient of Guggenheim and other fellowships, an advisor to Protect Democracy, and an MSNBC opinion columnist. She appears frequently on CNN, MSNBC, PBS, and other networks.Her latest book, a New York Times bestseller, Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present (2020; paperback with a new epilogue, 2021), examines how illiberal leaders use corruption, violence, propaganda, and machismo to stay in power, and how resistance to them has unfolded over a century.
Professor Ben-Ghiat will be joined by panelists: Karima Bennoune, Lewis M Simes Professor of Law and Professor of Law, Law School;Ji Yeon Hong, Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Studies, Associate Professor of Political Science and Associate Professor in the International Institute, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; andRonald Grigor Suny, William H Sewell, Jr Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of History, Professor Emeritus of History and Professor Emeritus of Political Science, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.For reasons that she will explain at the lecture, Dr. Ben-Ghiat feels obliged to give her keynote talk remotely, via Zoom. Her lecture will be followed by a panel—live and in person—moderated by SACUA chair Derek Peterson. The Zoom lecture will be screened in the auditorium for in-person attendees. For more information about the event, please visit the main event page.