The Glenn Show TGS Live: Tyler Austin Harper on the Big Bucks Funding Activism in the Humanities
Feb 27, 2026
A lively debate about how massive foundation grants may be steering humanities research toward identity-based activism. Journalistic investigation into the Mellon Foundation's funding patterns and their consequences. Thought-provoking claims about intent and influence in academic priorities.
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Funding Choices Aren't Accidental
- The absence of Marxist or class-based scholarship in Mellon funding is deliberate rather than accidental.
- Harper asserts this funding pattern explains the prevailing activist model in current humanities research.
No Push To Tax Mellon Donors
- Mellon-funded activism targets cultural and identity issues instead of economic redistribution or taxing wealthy donors.
- Harper notes it's notable that Mellon's donors aren't being asked to fund class-based redistribution in grants they underwrite.
Mellon Shapes Humanities Toward Identity Justice
- The Mellon Foundation directs humanities scholarship toward identity-based social justice rather than class-based approaches.
- Tyler Austin Harper links this shift to Mellon's massive annual grantmaking, which crowds out Marxist or class-focused work.