To those who have not already seen the news on other social media sites, the current administration at Australian Catholic University (where I’m doing my PhD research) has released a change plan that recommends disbanding the Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) department, the Dianoia Institute of Philosophy, and other humanities departments. While my program of study is not be directly affected by the change plan (inasmuch as my supervisors are not at risk of losing their positions), I can attest that our MEMS faculty are exceptional, internationally esteemed scholars and that MEMS and Dianoia are some of the only institutions of their kind in Australia. For these reasons, their dissolution would do irreparable damage to the university’s international reputation and appeal to prospective students.

For these reasons, I am imploring students and scholars both within the humanities and from other fields to show their solidarity with humanities faculty at ACU. Details of the administration’s Academic Change Plan and the threat that it poses to jobs, departments, and ACU’s international reputation, can be found in the change.org petition at https://www.change.org/p/save-the-humanities-at-australian-catholic-university/exp/cl_/cl_sharecopy_37425791_en-AU/0/1316358740?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_37425791_en-AU%3A0&recruiter=1316358740&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition&utm_term=psf_combo_share_initial. Please consider signing this petition and sharing it with others.