State Anti-Intellectualism and the Campaigns Against Critical Thinking

Eric Fassin examines the trend of State anti-intellectualism in France, the U.S. and beyond, demonstrating that this tendency is not limited to ostensibly illiberal regimes such as Turkey, Hungary, and Brazil. He argues that today’s world requires an examination of this phenomenon beyond Cold War geopolitical divisions and highlights a global shift towards authoritarian neoliberalism, including attacks on universities, the media, and freedom of speech and thought. Fassin argues for the political urgency of intellectual work in a global moment of political anti-intellectualism.

Eric Fassin is a Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at the University of Paris 8 Vincennes - Saint-Denis, affiliated with the SOPHIAPOL research center, and a senior member of the Institut Universitaire de France.  He has been a central figure in transatlantic dialogues between France and the U.S. on questions of race, gender, sexuality, post-colonial studies, and academic freedom.  He has written many books including, more recently, La savante et le politique: Ce que le féminisme fait aux sciences sociales (with Caroline Ibos, 2025); Les Études de genre (2025) ; Misère de l’anti-intellectualisme (2024); State Anti-Intellectualism and the Politics of Gender and Race: Illiberal France and Beyond (2024).

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