SocialJustice Forum Baumlin – Language, Literature, and Interdisciplinary Studies

When DEI is Defunded: Politics, Teaching, and the Fate of Social Justice in the U.S. Today

James S. Baumlin | Missouri State University

ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5837-8669

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Publication: Social Justice Special Issue

Excerpt | Through four decades I taught in the English Department at Missouri State University (MSU), a state-funded school in a politically conversative region of a U.S. Midwest state. The fall 2024 semester was, however, my last. The semester began in August so, on July 1 or some time thereabouts I visited the MSU website, aiming to prep for my last assignments in teaching: ENG 513, Shakespeare Seminar; ENG 340, Survey of Early English Literature; and ENG 289, Literature, Culture, Conflict. I had taught these courses before; many times. Visiting the web link to ENG 289 first, I glanced through the student photo album; a handsome group, some fifteen in all. There was an English major and three education majors, but the course had attracted what seemed a surprising number of students majoring in the social sciences, including political science and several in criminal justice. Then I noticed that the course title had changed—that I was assigned to teach ENG 289, Literature, Culture, Social Justice. Apparently, I had not paid attention to recent curriculum changes.

Keywords | Social Justice, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, DEI, Teaching, MAGA, Defunding, University Politics

James S. Baumlin (jbaumlin@missouristate.edu; ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5837 8669) is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Missouri State University, USA, where he has taught coursework in early-modern English literature (Shakespeare, Donne, and Milton), critical theories, and the history of rhetoric. He has published extensively in these fields, as well as in rhetorical theory, creative nonfiction, and composition pedagogy. His current research focuses on the history of Western ethos from antiquity to the present day. Among his many honors and awards is an election to membership in the International Association of University Professors of English (IAUPE, an affiliate of the UNESCO-sponsored International Federation of Modern Languages and Literatures) and receipt of an Excellence in English award, presented by the English-Speaking Union, H.R.H. Prince Philip presiding.

MLA Citation for this Article:

Baumlin, James S. “When DEI is Defunded: Politics, Teaching, and the Fate of Social Justice in the U.S. Today.” Language, Literature, and Interdisciplinary Studies, Social Justice Special Issue, 31 Dec. 2025, pp. 1.17–1.26, https://doi.org/10.71106/OHSC8683.