Defending the Sociology Curriculum: Strategizing in the Face of Governmental Censorship

Session Submission Type: Workshop

Description

In 2025, the Florida Board of Governors formed a “working group” tasked with constructing teaching guidelines and identifying classroom materials for Introductory Sociology courses across the state. Their goal? The censorship and ideological reconstruction of core areas of sociological inquiry. Their materials attacked paradigmatic sociological frames, erased racial, gender, and class stratification from the curriculum, and inserted ideological claims and right-wing talking points into what would soon become a state-mandated syllabus and textbook.
This workshop understands Florida as the testing ground, or the “canary in the coalmines,” for a larger attack on sociology, academic freedom, and faculty curricular authority. Drawing from the experiences of on-the-ground sociologists across the state of Florida, participants will…
(1) learn more about the maneuvers of the National Conservative movement and its strategic targeting of sociology courses and curriculum
(2) interrogate and deconstruct the strategies adopted by Florida’s education administration to undermine the discipline and control the sociology classroom
(3) relate these challenges to the broader mission of sociology and its value in improving society
(4) evaluate current, proposed, and potential strategies for resistance, including classroom management, media engagement, and collective resistance, especially through faculty senates, unions, and grassroots coalition-building
(5) coordinate and plan collective action strategies and individual tactics to defend the sociology curriculum and the principles of academic freedom across the country
Participants will review and critique the Florida state-curricular materials, gaining familiarity with current oppositional threats to the discipline’s curricula. Participants will, in turn, discuss resistance strategies, classroom management techniques, and teaching resources to ensure core topics in sociology remain in the curriculum.
This interactive workshop offers a valuable opportunity for attendees to network, strategize, and equip themselves with the tools necessary to defend academic freedom and the sociological integrity of their classrooms amidst a challenging climate of encroaching anti-intellectualism, censorship, and fascism.

Sub Unit

• Workshops / Departmental Management and Leadership Workshop

Presenters

• Katie Rainwater, FIU

• Zachary Levenson, Florida International University

• Matthew D. Marr, Florida International University

• Autumn Deer McClellan, University of Florida

• Jordan Scott, Florida State University

Session Organizer

• Evan Wilson Lauteria, University of Florida