The Future of Plagiarism
Or, here there be monsters
French Reflections
My writings, mostly but not entirely about French history
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The Future of Academia
The tumultuous events of the past year and a half have made it all too easy to imagine that American academia is not going through fundamental structural changes, but only an exceptional, irrational, and hopefully brief episode linked to a feverish political movement whose fever must eventually break.
Is Truth Dead?
For several decades now, it has been fashionable to mourn the “death of truth.” At first, the tragic demise was largely a matter for academic discussion, especially among critics of post-structuralist philosophy and that dastardly intellectual virus, “French Theory.” Then the internet gave rise to a new public space in which wildly mendacious claims and conspiracy theories circulated with…
On "Ideological Diversity"
In recent years, “ideological diversity” has become one of the principal demands made upon American academia, not only by the yahoo right but also by many moderate conservatives and centrists.
Paris Transformed (Again)
“Old Paris is no more.
Self-Defeating Moralizing
Just another day in America, 2026.
Beating AI in the Classroom
Last Monday, the faculty of Princeton University, where I teach, voted to reinstitute the proctoring of exams after more than 130 years of reliance on an honor code to prevent cheating.
Resistance and Dissent Under Trump
When M.
Resistance and Dissent Under Trump
When M.
Military Arithmetic
A scrimmage in a Border Station
New Writing
I’ve had a few new pieces of writing come out over the past couple of months that I hope will be of interest to readers of this column.