Since Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and Israel’s ensuing war on Gaza, few academic fields have experienced more internal upheaval than Holocaust and genocide studies. Scholars who once shared broad institutional consensus now find themselves divided over whether Gaza constitutes genocide, whether antisemitism and Holocaust memory are being politically weaponized, and whether universities can still be said to permit open debate on critical and contentious questions.

Broad and often subtle effects have begun to structurally transform how research, engagement, and intellectual debate within these fields are processed and legitimized. Jobs are increasingly insecure, research funding is harder to come by, and academics are facing micromanagement and harassment from forces both internal and external. These broader trends are dovetailing with the political climate to create a uniquely thick atmosphere of trepidation in Holocaust and genocide studies.

In an effort to understand how these fields are navigating this juncture, Jacobin spoke with a diverse array of scholars and experts. Despite the mounting pressures, I found many of them to be optimistic. New organizations devoted to debate and academic freedom have emerged, as have new conversations and paradigms that years ago would’ve been deemed unrealistic or problematic. The current moment is indeed dire, but it also offers glimmers of potential for those willing to look past sensational headlines.