Ari Kohen
@kohenari.bsky.social
Political theory professor, husband, dad, native Detroiter, MSU and Duke alum. I publish on heroism, human rights, and Holocaust education. Posts are from me, not the U.
Here's how it went and what I learned:
arikohen.substack.com/p/semesters-...
arikohen.substack.com/p/semesters-...
Semester's End
Right before the beginning of this semester, I made a series of changes to the syllabus of one of my classes after attending a seminar on teaching civil discourse.
arikohen.substack.com
December 30, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Here's how it went and what I learned:
arikohen.substack.com/p/semesters-...
arikohen.substack.com/p/semesters-...
Since the class focused on Israel, the Palestinians, and the politics of the Middle East, it seemed a good contender for a class where we should be up front about how we study contentious topics.
December 30, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Since the class focused on Israel, the Palestinians, and the politics of the Middle East, it seemed a good contender for a class where we should be up front about how we study contentious topics.
I think this is just obviously true and I assume that it’s something everyone understands at some level. We either do this thing together or it probably doesn’t get done.
Read the whole post here:
arikohen.substack.com/p/thinking-a...
Read the whole post here:
arikohen.substack.com/p/thinking-a...
Thinking about Community After Thanksgiving
I find that I repeat myself a fair amount, and not just because I’m getting older and more forgetful.
arikohen.substack.com
December 1, 2025 at 8:33 PM
I think this is just obviously true and I assume that it’s something everyone understands at some level. We either do this thing together or it probably doesn’t get done.
Read the whole post here:
arikohen.substack.com/p/thinking-a...
Read the whole post here:
arikohen.substack.com/p/thinking-a...
I say this to my kids when I have to miss dinner because I’m going to an evening lecture on campus. I say it to explain my level of volunteerism. And I say it when I’m trying to convince someone to join a Board or show up to an event.
December 1, 2025 at 8:33 PM
I say this to my kids when I have to miss dinner because I’m going to an evening lecture on campus. I say it to explain my level of volunteerism. And I say it when I’m trying to convince someone to join a Board or show up to an event.
Yes! More and more I’m convinced that single biggest problem we face is that people have lost or given up on the idea of the university as a community where amazing things happen due to the proximity and repeated interactions of interesting people.
November 11, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Yes! More and more I’m convinced that single biggest problem we face is that people have lost or given up on the idea of the university as a community where amazing things happen due to the proximity and repeated interactions of interesting people.
This is how a scenius begins. But if you’re not there, it can’t.
Read the whole post here: arikohen.substack.com/p/the-sceniu...
Read the whole post here: arikohen.substack.com/p/the-sceniu...
The Scenius at the Heart of Liberalism
If there’s one thing I find myself saying to my students in every class I teach, it’s this: we need to spend more time together.
arikohen.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:03 PM
This is how a scenius begins. But if you’re not there, it can’t.
Read the whole post here: arikohen.substack.com/p/the-sceniu...
Read the whole post here: arikohen.substack.com/p/the-sceniu...
If you show up, you’ll learn something. And you might meet the person with whom you’ll have everything in common. The person with whom you have nothing in common. The person you’ll travel with and the person you’ll end up arguing with and the person you’ll end up splitting a pizza with.
November 11, 2025 at 2:03 PM
If you show up, you’ll learn something. And you might meet the person with whom you’ll have everything in common. The person with whom you have nothing in common. The person you’ll travel with and the person you’ll end up arguing with and the person you’ll end up splitting a pizza with.
...gave the lie to Trump's repeated attempts to cast protesters as terrorists. All of the people who came together spoke with a single voice on an issue of grave importance to a liberal democracy: power must be temporary and accountable. And now what?
Some thoughts here:
Some thoughts here:
"A Republic, If You Can Keep It"
With another successful “No Kings” protest in the books, there are some who are—rightly, I would say—feeling buoyed by the effort.
arikohen.substack.com
October 21, 2025 at 6:01 PM
...gave the lie to Trump's repeated attempts to cast protesters as terrorists. All of the people who came together spoke with a single voice on an issue of grave importance to a liberal democracy: power must be temporary and accountable. And now what?
Some thoughts here:
Some thoughts here:
I grapple with all of it and with the demands of being a political liberal in my latest post:
arikohen.substack.com/p/two-things...
arikohen.substack.com/p/two-things...
Two Things at Once
It’s important to be able to hold two ideas in your head at the same time, even if those two ideas might compete or conflict with one another.
arikohen.substack.com
September 22, 2025 at 5:29 PM
I grapple with all of it and with the demands of being a political liberal in my latest post:
arikohen.substack.com/p/two-things...
arikohen.substack.com/p/two-things...
Yes, indeed. There are a bunch of recent books on the topic and there’s even a journal called Heroism Science!
September 15, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Yes, indeed. There are a bunch of recent books on the topic and there’s even a journal called Heroism Science!
The whole post is here and I'd love to hear what you think (comment here or there, or both!):
arikohen.substack.com/p/a-liberals...
arikohen.substack.com/p/a-liberals...
A Liberal's Guide to Moving On
With a new academic year now underway, I have a lot of material to write about on Substack; now I just need to find the time!
arikohen.substack.com
August 29, 2025 at 2:41 PM
The whole post is here and I'd love to hear what you think (comment here or there, or both!):
arikohen.substack.com/p/a-liberals...
arikohen.substack.com/p/a-liberals...
They didn't ask how much “viewpoint diversity” we need to seek out for inclusion. Instead, they argued about when we could just say we’ve dealt with a bad idea and move on. That’s the hard question for liberals to definitively answer: at what point can we just … stop?
August 29, 2025 at 2:41 PM
They didn't ask how much “viewpoint diversity” we need to seek out for inclusion. Instead, they argued about when we could just say we’ve dealt with a bad idea and move on. That’s the hard question for liberals to definitively answer: at what point can we just … stop?