Historians Against Trump

To the Editor:

Re “Professors, Stop Opining About Trump” (Sunday Review, July 17):

Historians Against Trump appreciates the attention to our open letter, but wishes that it came from a less predictable critic. Stanley Fish repeats all the usual barbs aimed at the politically involved academic.

At a moment when thinkers across the political spectrum invoke the specter of fascism in describing Donald Trump’s candidacy, Mr. Fish’s bad-faith reading of our letter comes across as astonishingly out of touch.

Contrary to what Mr. Fish writes, we do not believe that as historians we possess a special political wisdom. But no less than other workers, we have a pretty good sense of when our profession is under attack. Anti-intellectual demagogues have not historically been kind to the academy or the free exchange of ideas.

It is odd that Mr. Fish should take issue with professionals speaking out in defense of their fields. This election season has mobilized not just academics but also groups of therapists, writers, clergy, tech leaders and others to speak out against the threats posed by Mr. Trump’s candidacy to civil society institutions.

It is too bad that Mr. Fish’s fixation on small-bore campus politics keeps him from appreciating what is at stake outside the ivory tower.

DAVID SCHLITT

Pittsburgh

The writer is a member of the Historians Against Trump Organizing Committee. The letter was also signed by the three other members of the committee.

To the Editor:

Stanley Fish’s harangue against Historians Against Trump’s open letter, which I signed, charges us with hubris and denies our qualifications for warning against potential dangers we see in the coming election.

As a historian of Germany, I found our letter much too mild. Historians are responsible for the collective memory of peoples, and just like individuals with memories of past trauma, we are obliged to shout “stop!” when we see familiar signs of coming disaster.

RENATE BRIDENTHAL

New York

The writer is emerita professor of history at Brooklyn College, CUNY.