The following letter from AAA leadership appeared in the The Washington Post on 6/15/26.
The text below reflects the version submitted by the Association.
“Gary Saul Morson’s June 10 opinion essay, “The humanities matter. Scholars have to defend them,” presents a familiar critique of contemporary scholarship, relying on the same selective reasoning that has characterized much of the recent campaign against the humanities and social sciences. His argument simply rehashes what is in this undertheorized, poorly sited, politically motivated committee report.
He underscores that the authors do not know the difference between facts and truths and wisdom. He cherry-picks from a vast number of texts/debates/histories. Tellingly these folks have moved away from “free speech” arguments to try to rid the academy of ideas/texts they don’t like. They want to be the arbiters of objectivity while their beliefs about the way the world works slip away from their grasp and control.
The humanities remain vital not because they provide a single authoritative truth, but because they cultivate the intellectual humility, critical inquiry, and historical understanding necessary to engage complex questions. The greatest threat to those disciplines is not the existence of debate, but the insistence that only one side of that debate represents legitimate knowledge.”
Carolyn Rouse
President,
American Anthropological Association
View the published letter in the Washington Post here.