In this conversation at the Review of Democracy, Michael S. Roth sketches the main ways of being a student since ancient times; reflects on the process of learning “to be free”; explores the reasons behindthe politicization of universities in the United States; considers what might be new about the adversarial relationship between students and university administrators these days; and sketches what “safe enough spaces” might look like in our turbulenttimes.

Michael S. Roth is a historian, curator, author, and public advocate for liberal education. He has acted as President of Wesleyan University since 2007. He is the foundingdirector of the Scripps College Humanities Institute. He formerly acted as the associate director of the GettyResearch Institute in Los Angeles and as president of theCalifornia College of the Arts. He is the author ofeight books. The Student: A Short History is his newest book.

The Student: A Short History is published by Yale University Press.