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.