sexual harassment

When Professors Close Ranks

by Claire Bond Potter

If administrations can't be counted on to support student victims of sexual harassment, faculty need to be prepared to defend students and help them defend themselves by whatever means necessary. 

Historians on the Harvard Sexual Harassment Scandal

Two competing open letters pitted Harvard faculty against each other over discipline imposed on anthropology professor John Comaroff. Then a federal lawsuit made the full range of accusations against the professor and the university public. 

The Tip of the Iceberg at Harvard?

Just after 38 Harvard faculty penned an open letter of support for Professor John Comaroff, a lawsuit by three graduate students against him and the university was announced. The allegations describe a repeated pattern of harassment and institutional protection for an abuser.

New York AG Report: Cuomo Sexually Harassed Multiple Women, Retaliated Against Accuser

Attorney General Letitia James's report details allegations against the governor by multiple women; Cuomo has rejected calls to resign. 

Female Faculty Wrote a Brave Letter to Northwestern about Sexual Harassment, Racism Allegations from Cheerleaders.

“The idea that some of the people taking this class from me might be subjected to the very things we’re discussing, during campus-sanctioned activities,” [History Professor Kate] Masur said, “it’s jarring and disgusting.”

Pr*cks in Public: A Microhistory

by Gillian Frank

The recent controversy over a prominent writer's exposure on Zoom is part of a story of white men’s power to sexualize and control workplaces and public space through these same actions.

Jeffrey Toobin and the M-Word: Let’s be Honest about what Makes this Scandal so Scandalous

by Jonathan Zimmerman

Jeffrey Toobin's scandal reflects the weight of the idea of the enlightenment individual and the fear that individuals freed from constraint would fall into corruption. 

‘Reckoning’ Follows a 50-Year Road to #MeToo

A review of Linda Hirshman's Reckoning: The Epic Battle Against Sexual Abuse and Harassment. 

A Professor Was Accused of Sexual Misconduct. Why is he Still on Campus?

Women speak up. A tenured professor is accused of sexual misconduct. Who does the University protect?

Tenured historian, fired over sexual harassment charges, allowed to resign instead

The change came after the faculty union intervened in the case of Central Washington University professor Brian Carroll.

Why I’m Firing Michigan State: Sexual Harassment, Online Harassment, and Utter Institutional Failure

by Joy Lisi Rankin

"This essay is about me standing up for myself and facing down the bullies.”

Nicole Hemmer exposes sexual harassment at the Miller Center

"I’ve experienced more harassment than anywhere else I’ve worked."

The scathing ad 1,600 black women bought to oppose Clarence Thomas

On Nov. 17, 1991, more than 1,600 African American women, outraged by the Senate’s mistreatment of Anita Hill, took out an ad in the New York Times with the headline: “African American Women in Defense of Ourselves.”

No women served on the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1991

The ugly Anita Hill hearings changed that.

Echoes of Anita Hill, but in a Different Era for Women

Now it is Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh who faces a hearing to address explosive accusations by Christine Blasey Ford that he sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers.

Historian sues University of South Florida, claiming sexual harassment and discrimination by fellow professor

Former Associate Professor Tamara Zwick claims that the chair of the USF Tampa history department, Fraser Ottanelli, repeatedly sexually harassed her and spread false rumors about her.

You’ve Heard of Eric Schneiderman. You Should Know About Rose Schneiderman.

by Jennifer Scanlon

She’s the Schneiderman who championed women’s rights in the 20th century.

With Emmett Till Reference, Camille Cosby Invokes Oft-Used Cultural Touchstone

“You’ve got apples and you have oranges and there’s nothing about either situation that is in alignment with the other,” said Ms. Gordon-Taylor, the head of the Mamie Till Mobley Memorial Foundation, named after Till’s mother.

Where does MLK fit in today's #MeToo world?

by Jonathan Zimmerman

Should we judge him by today's standards?

Stanford’s All White Male History Conference

by Sasha Turner, Barbara Molony, and Sandra Dawson

A response from the Coordinating Council of Women Historians.