As universities across the country quietly dismantle their language departments, in particular, and humanities programs in general, the question is no longer whether we can afford the humanities- but whether we can afford to lose them. Drawing on historical parallels between the present moment and the 1930s, this talk argues that Schools of Literatures, Cultures, and Linguistics are not luxuries but bulwarks of democracy. Through reflections on teaching the Holocaust, critical theory, and the politics of memory, Professor Hunt examines how training in critical thought equips students to recognize and resist authoritarian patterns before they take hold.