Michael S. Roth on Being a Student and Student Activism Today - Finding the Pragmatist Middle Ground-

In this conversation at the Review of Democracy, Michael S. Roth sketches the main ways of being a student since ancient times; reflects on the process of learning “to be free”; explores the reasons behind the politicization of universities in the United States; considers what might be new about the adversarial relationship between students and university administrators these days; and sketches what “safe enough spaces” might look like in our turbulent times.

Michael S. Roth is a historian, curator, author, and public advocate for liberal education. He has acted as President of Wesleyan University since 2007. He is the founding director of the Scripps College Humanities Institute. He formerly acted as the associate director of the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles and as president of the California College of the Arts. He is the author of eight books. The Student: A Short History is his newest book.

The Student: A Short History is published by Yale University Press.