Texas A&M University: Philosophy Professor Forced to Remove Plato from Syllabus Based on Race and Gender Ideology Policy

On January 6, 2026, Texas A&M University administrators forced philosophy professor Martin Peterson to remove Plato excerpts and other material on race and gender ideology from his introductory philosophy course or be reassigned to teach a different course. Texas A&M pointed to revised System Policy 08.01, approved by the Board of Regents in December 2025, which bars core academic courses from “advocat[ing] race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender ideology.” Administrators also told English department faculty that literature with “major plot line[s] concern[ing] gay, lesbian, transgender, etc., identities … should NOT be included in a core curriculum course.” On January 8, FIRE wrote Texas A&M, urging it to allow Peterson and other faculty to continue teaching course-relevant material concerning race and gender because the First Amendment protects faculty pedagogy from outside interference.