Thanks for posting this. I think most of us who teach have experienced something similar, although not always documented with compared scores.
The trend toward less engagement is probably 40 years old, but it all accelerated into hyperspace during Covid.

Academic boycott of Israel and the American Sociological Association I don’t usually write about professional matters here, but there are all kinds of issues about protest and organizations and influence at play here. It may be of interest to Politicsoutdoors …

I am a candidate for office in the American Sociological Association. I've been asked to provide a statement on a proposed academic boycott of Israel. Here's what I wrote: Academic boycott of Israel and the American Sociological Association politicsoutdoors.com/2026/04/17/a...

One battle after another (not the movie!) War dominates our screens, our politics, and our brains. For a while, it crowds out almost everything else. And, more than virtually any other issue, war polarizes. For these reasons and others, pr…

One battle after another (not the movie!)
Does war go to the top of grievances against Trump? Or is it just one more offense?

politicsoutdoors.com/2026/04/02/o...

And/or maybe this case is precedent for striking down bans on gender affirming care for minors.

The last Cesar Chavez Day (2026) Thanks to the California state legislature, the last Cesar Chavez Day was in 2025. March 31 will mark the holiday this year, renamed Farmworkers Day. Given the revelations of the past few days, thi…

The last Cesar Chavez Day (2026) politicsoutdoors.com/2026/03/26/t...

Joe Kent, a Top U.S. Counterterrorism Official, Resigns Over the Iran War

Standard for the admin to malign and discredit critics. It's unfortunate that this one is so discreditable.

Joe Kent, a Top U.S. Counterterrorism Official, Resigns Over the Iran War www.nytimes.com/2026/03/17/w...

Twin Cities Redux: What a Resistance win looks like ICE is retreating from Minneapolis, but this time it’s not because of climate change. Instead, it’s a victory–albeit a very costly one–for the resistance to the Trump Admini…

Twin Cities Redux: What a Resistance win looks like politicsoutdoors.com/2026/02/12/t...

Protest songs, poetry, and political influence Long ago, I was seduced by Shelley’s Defense of Poetry, which concluded with a bold claim: “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” At some point, I became skeptic…

Long ago, I thought Shelley had it nailed, identifying poets as the unacknowledged legislators of the world. Then I got skeptical and went to grad. school--an overreaction.

Protest songs, poetry, and political influence politicsoutdoors.com/2026/01/30/p...

Repression in Minneapolis backfires (2) Federal agents keeping the peace (?) in Minneapolis after killing a demonstrator. Repression is risky for everyone. It works for authorities when most opponents are deterred from taking visible act…

ICE made Alex Pretti a martyr.

Repression in Minneapolis backfires (2) politicsoutdoors.com/2026/01/25/r...

Repression backfires in Minneapolis (1) Federal agents seem determined to kill anti-deportation protesters, at least enough of them to kill the resistance. It’s not working–at least not yet. Minnesotans are fighting back. Who…

I'm trying to catch up with the horrifying killings in Minnesota and the resistance

Repression backfires in Minneapolis (1) politicsoutdoors.com/2026/01/24/r...

Filming ICE is legal but exposes you to digital tracking – here’s how to minimize the risk Federal agents have pepper-sprayed, tackled and detained people recording their actions. If you post your recordings of agents, you also risk the feds tracking you and those around you.

theconversation.com/filming-ice-...

Martin Luther King Day 2026 (repost plus) Commemoration is very much a salient issue at the moment. Donald Trump, president, is rewriting the history of the Capitol Hill invasion and American history more broadly. It’s no surprise th…

Here's something on Martin Luther King Day 2026 (repost plus) politicsoutdoors.com/2026/01/19/m...

Book cover: Citizen Scholar Public Engagement for Social Scientists Philip N. Cohen

💥 Citizen Scholar made the list of book forums for next year's @asanews.bsky.social meetings. 💥

Thanks to @nvancleve.bsky.social, @davidsmeyer.bsky.social, @daniellaurison.bsky.social, and @jessicacalarco.com for agreeing to discuss! And
@columbiaup.bsky.social
www.asanet.org/annual-meeti...

Trump pivots from bashing Mamdani, predicting he will ‘do a great job’ as mayor Trump warmed to Mamdani, even declaring he would finally feel comfortable moving back to the city with the 34-year-old democratic socialist running city hall.

What is this? Game knows game? Mamdani understands how to deploy charm? They shared favorite pizza places?

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Jury finds D.C. ‘sandwich guy’ not guilty of assaulting officer Sean C. Dunn admitted he flung the hoagie at a federal agent. His attorneys called it a “harmless gesture” of protest as Trump commandeered D.C. police.

Creating a moral hazard for food fights?

www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

New nuclear tests are a political test Donald Trump announced that the United States would start testing its nuclear arsenal again–after foregoing nuclear weapons testing since 1992, when the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union fe…

Unintentionally, Donald Trump has fed citizen anxiety about America's expensive new nuclear buildup. New nuclear tests are a political test politicsoutdoors.com/2025/11/02/n... via @davidsmeyer1

Alright University of Arizona letter has arrived. I would say this reads as a soft rejection where they say they would love to chat more but: "We seek no special treatment and believe in our ability to compete for federally funded research strictly on merit."

president.arizona.edu/sites/defaul...

University of Arizona rejects the compact:

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/president.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/2025...

The 3.5% fallacy Every media outlet is going to post estimated numbers on the No Kings rallies, and they’re sure to be impressive. Larger than the extremely large June 14 demonstrations will be seen as a sign…

The numbers of people who came out are extraordinary, but it will take more than large numbers at a one-day event to change the moment.

The 3.5% fallacy politicsoutdoors.com/2025/10/18/t...

Why The ‘No Kings’ March Won’t Change Anything — Until It Does - WhoWhatWhy Millions may march this weekend. Some will go home thinking it didn’t matter. Here’s why they’re wrong — and right.

Our podcast guest @davidsmeyer.bsky.social
isn’t interested in the romance of resistance; he examines its machinery. And what he’s found might surprise cynics: Protests work, but not the way we think they do, and almost never on the timeline we expect. #NoKingsOct18

whowhatwhy.org/podcast/why-...

Anchoring academic resistance Last week the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) rejected the “Compact” offered by the Trump Administration, crossing a line into resistance and (implicitly) inviting other uni…

MIT, by emphasizing data and merit, rather than politics, set out a standard for the rest of academia.

Anchoring academic resistance politicsoutdoors.com/2025/10/17/a...

Solidarity and higher education Virtually everyone starts with a gripe about higher education: costs, grades, debt, jobs, parking, artificial intelligence, natural intelligence, and so and so on. The Trump administration has floa…

Academic leaders fight first for their own schools--and higher ed becomes more vulnerable as a result.

Solidarity and higher education politicsoutdoors.com/2025/10/16/s...

Academic freedom and free speech mean space for ideas you don't like. Threats of violence, often credible, shut down free inquiry. The case of Mark Bray:politicsoutdoors.com/2025/10/10/thugs-threats...

Massive congratulations!

The Trump/OMB/Vought threat is all about taking tens of thousands of government employees hostage. Use the language.

Jimmy Kimmel, free speech, and turning points When the Trump episode (epoch?) in American life ends, the brief suspension of a late night talk show host may well mark the turning point when Republicans and conservatives began to abandon this p…

The win on Kimmel is one of what will be many turning points that end up mattering.

Jimmy Kimmel, free speech, and turning points politicsoutdoors.com/2025/09/24/j...

Cho toner did a really good job in prepping and conducting the interview. Sunstein comes off as someone confident that he can continue to get by primarily on charm.

When is the president of antifa going to issue a statement?

I can imagine a future where ABC bringing Kimmel back while Trump calls for immediate prosecution of his "enemies" is a turning point in American politics and life--and things get better. Point: we don't have to give in to every dangerous initiative from the White House.

President Trump can do a lot now to promote peace and comity by condemning political violence from any corner--just as he did when crazed men attacked Paul Pelosi and, more recently, Josh Shapiro, and Melissa and Mark Hortman.

Oh, wait, he didn't do that.