We Demand: The University and Student Protests (Volume 1)

American Studies Now: Critical Histories of the Present

by Roderick A. Ferguson

“Puts campus activism in a radical historic context.”—New York Review of Books

In the post–World War II period, students rebelled against the university establishment. In student-led movements, women, minorities, immigrants, and indigenous people demanded that universities adapt to better serve the increasingly heterogeneous public and student bodies. The success of these movements had a profound impact on the intellectual landscape of the twentieth century: out of these efforts were born ethnic studies, women’s studies, and American studies.
 
In We Demand, Roderick A. Ferguson demonstrates that less than fifty years since this pivotal shift in the academy, the university is moving away from “the people” in all their diversity. Today the university is refortifying its commitment to the defense of the status quo off campus and the regulation of students, faculty, and staff on campus. The progressive forms of knowledge that the student-led movements demanded and helped to produce are being attacked on every front. Not only is this a reactionary move against the social advances since the ’60s and ’70s—it is part of the larger threat of anti-intellectualism in the United States. 

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Education, Economics, Theory, Cultural Studies

136 pages, Hardcover

Published August 22, 2017

Reviews

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ferguson has written a succinct (about 100 pages of main text) but elegant and useful primer on the university and student movements from the perspective of American Studies research and scholarship. Drawing from his own larger research project (i.e., his The Reorder of Things) as well as the work of scholars like Jodi Melamed, Craig Steven Wilder, Sarah Ahmed, and Lisa Duggan, as well as the figures associated with Critical University Studies (Chris Newfield, Marc Bousquet, Sheila Slaughter and Larry Leslie,) Ferguson argues that the university is a central battleground of social struggles and that those struggles have both transformed the contours of contemporary relations of force (in victory and defeat, for better and for worse,) and have much to offer activists and radicals in the contemporary moment. I think this will be a really valuable text for teaching American Studies and the history of Universities and student movements to undergraduates. As a historian of university labor and an American Studies scholar, I found Ferguson's book helpful myself for its generous but rigorous approach to contemporary and historical student struggles and the kinds of knowledge they made and make possible.

[kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Focuses on academia as a site of struggle, but as the book argues, everything is relational. Very succinct and efficient history of the rise and consequences of neoliberalism and why student movements matter. Feels very timely now and want to remember the core questions and rules as I enter education.

[Drew Sutton · Rating 2 out of 5]

A radical view of the university as an institution. I feel like I lost track of what Ferguson was trying to prove amongst a lot of rhetoric.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

To begin with, this is an academic book that is also of note beyond the academy, as more recent events since its publication readily demonstrate. While it denotes historical moments, it also readily considers aspects of language and meaning, of groups that were minoritized and of intergroup cooperation, and more. I found myself jotting notes and mirroring it to historical moments of my own historical studies and more. Its inclusion in the series of studies dedicated to nd entitled "American Studies Now: Critical Histories of the Present" is fair and apropos given its focus and relevance.

Yet, this is also why I found myself thinking of it as a four-star review instead of a five. Its attention to Kent State and Jackson State as an opening framework is compelling, but as someone who studies educational history, I kept wondering if other student protests and uprisings would receive their due, both those that proceeded and preceded these two ones that serve as the opening elements of the book. Sadly, these others do not receive as much attention, which is unfortunate as some of those other protests show how Ivy League students pushed against ROTC presence, how African American students agitated for more inclusion, and how high school students protested to support LatinX involvement. While this is a book in a series subtitled "Critical Histories of the Present," an expansion on the historical protests would have caused more resonance with the present views that Ferguson discusses. To be fair, there are shimmers and nods of references to these events, but they never receive the same focus as Ferguson grants the "riots" and resulting student deaths at Kent State and Jackson State.

Still, this is ultimately a very compelling read that illuminates the shadows of protest and the language, movements, and developments (administrative and otherwise) that have been present and altered in recent history. I recommend reading this one, even if it does not meet the more complete history I hoped would be found in its pages. Still, compelling, well-written, and well-considered- it should spark conversation and debate in meaningful ways.

[Sarah Swedberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

In less than 100 pages, Ferguson gives shape to what I (and others) know. I appreciated his engagement with theorists and his clear argument. Although it seemed to me less about student protests and more about the social reproduction of universities as agents of inequality, it was an argument I needed to read at this particular moment.

I've been struggling to write a piece about the place of professional student advising as someone who left a long career as a professor, hoping to find a place to help enact transformation in student services.

Maybe Ferguson's bibliography and organization can help me along in this project.

[Darcysmom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review.
Roderick A. Ferguson has presented a history of protest on college campuses that is both scholarly and accessible. We Demand should be required reading for all activists on college campuses.
I especially liked the emphasis on minoritized groups working together.
The last section of the book was my favorite - the suggestions for successful activism were thoughtful and thought provoking.
I will be recommending this book to all my colleagues in higher education.

[Mayra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book does an excellent job at introducing a topic that is not very much discussed, despite the effect and ever-growing presence and role of it. Through discussed text and quotes from others, the author compiles a book that criticizes administrations and bureaucracy for the inability to allow students to produce disagreement or insurgencies. Highlighting the need for neoliberalism to keep in check students, Rodrick is able to capture the issue of university and student movements, as more and more, universities act as their own government. It is insightful and is an easy read.

[Paul Eaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not Ferguson’s best book. But, it is accessible and might be a good introductory text for those unfamiliar with the oeuvre of Ferguson’s intellectual prowess. That said, the conclusion is EXCELLENT, and should be read by all progressive, radical scholars.

[David Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timely and essential

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly well researched and approachable.

[Sebastian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boooo!

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first two chapters were great. The rest got a bit too abstract, meandering, and unorganized.

[Candelaria Beatty · Rating 5 out of 5]

i think all college students should read this book. it contextualizes activism on college campuses within the history of our country and its institutions, while also providing both guidance and hope to the young activist. it’s time to radicalize fr bro.

[Jarred · Rating 1 out of 5]

Biggest piece of propagandistic bullshit I’ve ever read.

[Nolan Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ferguson intricately identifies and details the squashing and demonization of student protest movements in the 1960s/early 70s via the Powell Memorandum and neoliberal distortion and co-option of student demands. Humanities scholar and American Studies professor, Ferguson’s exploration and reflection of student protest and institutional/state oppression are framed in the lens of American Studies scholarship. Meaning, this book functions as a 100-page academic paper. We Demand cross-pollinates knowledge, stressing the intricate connections of Black, queer, disabled, indigenous struggles and their direct impact on student protest. However, when giving a quote/new piece of information, Ferguson provides analysis on an inconsistent basis, sometimes elaborating on a quote for paragraphs at a time, and in other instances, not at all. Despite its density, Ferguson’s analysis is stunning in terms of an academic text. However, I have a hard time imagining this book’s accessibility to undergrads due to its density. Ferguson opens the introduction with who the book is for specifically, and that is not the typical undergraduate in American academia. Finally, I wanted to note the first chapter, Kent State/Jackson State, and the usable past. Ferguson's inferences and claims toward the student protest wave of May 1970 leave much to be desired regarding historical analysis and detail. Kent State and Jackson State were monumental moments in student activism history, as was the massive shockwave that made movements across campuses the nation had never seen. I picked up Ferguson’s book hoping to gain new details and insight at this moment, but I was disappointed to read how little page space he gave to these events. Instead, Ferguson lingers heavily on these events' aftermath and implications.

Despite my critiques and subtle disappointments with the work, Ferguson truly has curated a vital text that belongs on the shelf of every student activist in the United States. We Demand is an illuminating academic text that identifies and contextualizes the squashing and demonization of student protest movements across contemporary America.