A small survey among some young U.S. scientists at Goethe University Frankfurt shows: There are great fears that academic freedom in the U.S.A. could be restricted even further. Regardless of their original career and life plans: Hardly anyone is drawn back home at the moment.
What Would Adorno Have Thought?
Hunter Hilinski is a PhD candidate from UC Irvine on a research fellowship at the Center for Normative Orders since August 2024. The political scientist researches the Frankfurt School and critical theory, which is why he was drawn to Germany to exchange ideas with current representatives of this school of thought, but also to better learn the language of their publications. His contract runs until August this year – “but I would like to extend it, partly because of the current situation in the U.S.A.” As an American citizen, Hunter is not really worried about himself. “But those who are currently only in the U.S.A. on a visa can hardly plan their academic future.” Hunter is very worried about the developments Trump has unleashed in just a few weeks. “In Florida, a very conservative state, they are already intervening in university curricula to prevent certain content from being taught. Academics from the humanities who critically analyze race and racial theories, for example, generally have to fear that they will no longer be able to offer seminars on these topics. Certain terms that are not at all subject-specific, such as ‘feminism’, are placed on an index and may then no longer be used. So, I’m worried that I won’t be able to teach my subject freely once I return home. I’m afraid that everything I write and say will be monitored and documented.”
In his research on the Frankfurt School, focusing on the interwar and post-war years, Hunter wants to shed light on the concept of utopia: “How was the term used in critical theory as a frame of reference for the blocked or stunted possibilities of social development?” With his research topic, he can also analyze current developments in the U.S.A. Trump’s anti-intellectualism and the fascist tendencies he has unleashed pose a decisive challenge to autonomous, critical thinking and democratic culture. Hunter is happy to be living and researching in Germany at the moment. However, he does not see Europe as an island of the blessed: “Germany itself is having problems with an ultra-right-wing party like the AfD; these tendencies are evident worldwide and are not unique to the U.S.A. – although it should be noted that the U.S.A. is the oldest democracy and perhaps the strongest military power in the world.” In terms of domestic politics, Hunter sees the rigid two-party system as a major problem: the institutional framework leaves little room for political alternatives. The Democrats lacked a vision: they could demonstrate against Trump, but there was no idea what they were taking to the streets for. Those who did not vote for Trump had realized too late that his second presidency was not business as usual. Now the danger is becoming acute, especially for the education and science system.
When Climate Change Is Suddenly Considered Fake
Dr. Allison Curley, an American from the University of Michigan, has been in Germany for exactly one year. The climate researcher is a postdoc in the Faculty of Geosciences and Geography. “When I was thinking about going to Germany for a certain period of time, the idea of returning to the U.S.A. afterwards was still very much alive,” she recalls. “I really enjoyed my studies and doctorate there, the atmosphere was very lively.” But now she says quite clearly that she doesn’t want to go back for the time being. She sees early career researchers like herself as particularly at risk: Jobs in industry and administration, but above all positions at universities are under threat. “Getting the first grant after the PhD is an important milestone. Financial and ideological attacks on government funding bodies like NSF and NIH will make research funding even more scarce. I am therefore happy to be able to build up my network in Europe. As a lesbian woman who is engaged to a woman, living conditions in the USA are also very poor, so I see our future more in Europe.” Allison analyzes rocks and fossils using various geochemical methods to gain insights into what happened to the ecosystem in earlier warm periods. In her doctoral thesis, she focused on the history of the earth at the time of the dinosaurs; she is currently working on the last interglacial period around 120,000 years ago, before the last ice age. “My aim is to learn from the Earth’s history: what should we expect if the Earth’s temperature continues to rise in the coming decades?”
Allison is very frustrated that Trump has already knocked down stakes in the first weeks of his second term that are disastrous for climate research: “The first thing he did was withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. You have to imagine that: The country that is one of the main contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions now wants to increase the use of fossil fuels again! By claiming that climate change is just the invention of left-liberal science, Trump’s government is destroying important progress on climate protection.” Allison is happy to be able to research and live in Germany but, like Hunter, is also concerned about the latest developments: “The Netherlands is very attractive for American researchers. But when, for example, the earth sciences department at the Free University of Amsterdam is being closed down as part of the government’s new political course, that has to give you pause for thought.”
Allison is somewhat surprised that the protests against Trump have not really been noticed in Europe so far. In her opinion, the criticism of Trump has been very loud from the start; she suspects that the media has not reported on it accordingly. However, she concedes: “There could be more. And I’m also sure that as Trump’s policies affect more and more Americans directly, the protests will become more audible.” She regrets not being able to take to the streets herself due to her time abroad. “I would definitely take an active part.”
The Advantages Of The European Way Of Life
Dr. Cameron Seglias is also an American, but feels more like a European in spirit: the research assistant and post-doctoral candidate in American Studies in Frankfurt left the U.S.A. after completing his Bachelor’s degree at Bard College in New York and then spent the rest of his academic career in Germany. “I always felt a bit foreign in my home country. I come from a conservative family in Pennsylvania. I was put off by the American way of life with its focus on consumption and consumer products, and I was drawn to Europe early on,” reports Cameron. He originally wanted to research European history and literature. But the great geographical distance from his home country, he surmises, fueled a renewed interest in American history and literature. “I’ve written a book about anti-slavery in the 17th and 18th centuries; my aim is to show how anti-black racism is linked to the emergence of capitalism.” Cameron understands the great horror in Europe over the first weeks and months of Trump’s presidency, but also sees a lot of traditional lines and continuities in American history: “The U.S.A. is more than a state: in a way, it is also a settler project based on white supremacy, settler colonialism and exploitation.”
Nevertheless, Cameron also recognizes the huge break in recent American history: he wonders whether there has ever been such far-reaching censorship in many fields. “The story of America has always been told as an exceptional one. But it cannot be separated from that of Europe. My subject, American Studies, must also look critically at the images and narratives of this country and not confuse propaganda with reality.”
Cameron is travelling to a conference at the University of Notre Dame in June. Is he worried that he might get into trouble when entering the country or otherwise? “Not really, but I’m curious to see what the country will feel like under Trump. I’m worried about the many scientists in the U.S.A. The labor market especially for young academics was already very bad before Trump.” Cameron hopes that European universities will remember their strength and remain strongholds of freedom of expression and academic freedom. Anti-democratic and anti-research forces are not the only threat to academia in Europe: “A university should not be a business model like in the USA. The state should invest enough to ensure that everyone has access to education and science. In my opinion, this represents a major challenge for the future of science in Europe.”
Read more: The article “Erasures: creative painting as resistance” addresses censorship in the American education system.
