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The Review

The Chronicle’s opinion, analysis, and culture section, with op-eds, book reviews, interviews, letters, scholar profiles, and essays about the ideas and controversies shaping higher education.
Students protest against the war in Gaza on the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel at Columbia University in New York, New York, on Monday, October 7, 2024. One year ago today Hamas breached the wall containing Gaza and attacked Israeli towns and military installations, killing around 1200 Israelis and taking 250 hostages, and sparking a war that has over the last year killed over 40,000 Palestinians and now spilled over into Lebanon. Photographer: Victor J. Blue for The Washington Post via Getty Images
The Review | Opinion
The Fraught Task of Hiring Pro-Zionist Professors
Photo-based illustration of a Greek bust of a young lady from the House of Dionysos with her face partly covered by a laptop computer and that portion of her face rendered in binary code.
The Review | Essay
A Coup at Carnegie Mellon?
By Sheila Liming, Catherine A. Evans December 12, 2025
The university is replacing the humanities with more computers.
Vector illustration of a suited man fixing the R, which has fallen, in an archway sign that says "UNIVERSITY."
The Review | Essay
Why Flagships Are Winning
By Ian F. McNeely December 11, 2025
Battered by decades of disruption, they are now more frugal and more resilient than elite privates.

Latest Letters

Giving Thanks by Giving Notice: Decrying Core Staff Firings at USC
The current financial crisis is not of our making — but we are being handed the bill.
How a Diversity Statement Story Ended
An interview briefly mentioned a revealing diversity statement edit. Here’s the full story.
America’s Long Game Is International Education
What happens if we stop investing in language learning, cultural fluency, and global knowledge?

More Review

KWAME ANTHONY APPIAH
The Review | Conversation
Kwame Anthony Appiah on Identity in an Age of Essentialism
By Evan Goldstein, Len Gutkin December 11, 2025
The philosopher on the 2020 racial reckoning, the mistakes of DEI offices, and the imperative to cultivate thick skin.
A student walks past the Burton Memorial Clock Tower at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, on Monday, July 28, 2025.
The Review | Essay
In Praise of College Towns
By Phil Christman December 10, 2025
Small liberal-arts colleges hold out the promise of utopia.
The Weber Arch at Northwestern University.
The Review | Opinion
Deals With Trump Will Haunt Universities
By Suzanne Nossel December 5, 2025
The fine print could shape higher education for generations.
Photo-based illustration of a red pennant with a white cross.
The Review | Essay
The Inevitable Rise of Right-Wing DEI
By Len Gutkin December 5, 2025
Conservative Christians want safe spaces, too.
A classical sculpture of Apollo deconstructed in a pop art style.
The Review | Essay
The Theory That Endangers the Humanities
By Simon During December 4, 2025
A social-scientific approach has risks. But humanists can’t just leave it behind.
A paper with a Christian cross with a red X over it, suggesting a failing grade
The Review | Opinion
The Grading Scandal That Should Worry Higher Ed
By Nicholas B. Creel December 4, 2025
It was wrong to fail a student for citing the Bible in an essay on gender.
Peter Woulfe's (1727-1803) for studying gases.
The Review | Essay
Studying Science in an Anti-Scientific Time
By Julianne Werlin December 4, 2025
Peter Dear’s new book struggles to negotiate our polarized present.
Illustration of a street sign featuring the names of several colleges and universities.
The Review | Essay
The College Search Is Broken
By Jeffrey Selingo December 3, 2025
How a push for transparency created an admissions system that serves no one well.
Photo-based illustration of a building made of wooden blocks, marked with a red tag and shopping carts hauling away blocks
The Review | Essay
College Bankruptcies Are Coming
By Hollis Robbins December 3, 2025
Chasing an idealized past has undermined higher ed’s present.
Illustration of rows of duplicated mostly blue male workers with briefcases walking in formation with one reddish orange worker in the middle.
The Review | Opinion
Is Any Professor Safe From Being Fired Anymore?
By Deepa Das Acevedo December 2, 2025
Academics are just the latest to confront the vanishing promise of job security in America.
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