Fellowships

Deepa Das Acevedo is the author of The War on Tenure. At the Forum, Deepa gave a talk about her book and discussed her ongoing research on tenure in higher education. Deepa Das Acevedo is a legal anthropologist. Her research blends ethnographic fieldwork and anthropological theory with doctrinal and policy analysis to provide new insights about legal rules and institutions. 

She studies employment regulation (particularly faculty tenure as an employment protection), the law and politics of India (focusing on next-generation law & policy organizations), and methodological and theoretical developments in the anthropology of law. She is the Editor of the peer-reviewed journal PoLAR: Political and Legal Anthropology Review, a past Trustee of the Law & Society Association, and has held leadership positions in the Association of American Law Schools, the American Anthropological Association, and the Association for Politica and Legal Anthropology.

Mary Anne Franks is a legal scholar at George Washington University Law School whose work explores the intersection of free speech, civil rights, and technology. Her research focuses on online harassment, discrimination, and the regulation of harmful expression. She is the author of The Cult of the Constitution and Fearless Speech: Breaking Free from the First Amendment , which as recently named a finalist for the 2026 Bech-Loughlin First Amendment Center Excellence in Free Speech Scholarship Award. She also serves as President of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative.

 

Over the past 15 years, Yaqiu's work has focused on freedom of expression, the protection of human rights defenders, women’s rights, and minority rights in China. Yaqiu brings deep expertise and a prominent voice on Chinese repression, helping students understand the costs of restricted expression for autonomy and intellectual freedom. As a Forum Fellow, she conducted independent research, delivered a public lecture, participated in Forum events, and met with faculty and students.

In addition to her research, Yaqiu has conducted advocacy with government officials and elected representatives in the United States, the European Union and at the U.N. to promote laws and policies that address Beijing’s human rights abuses. She also works with advocacy and activist groups to build coalitions advancing freedom and democracy in China and beyond.

Yaqiu has testified before the U.S. Congress multiple times, as well as before the Australian Parliament. Her articles have appeared in publications such as The New York Times and The Atlantic. She is frequently quoted by major news outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, and The Guardian, and has appeared on CNN, BBC, and other international media.

She was born and raised in China and holds a master’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University. 

As a Forum Fellow, she conducted independent research, delivered a public lecture, participated in Forum events, and met with faculty and students.

Patrick Weil is a historian and Director of Research at the CNRS, specializing in immigration and citizenship issues. He is also a visiting professor at Yale University and the Paris School of Economics.  

He is the author of The Sovereign Citizen: Denaturalization and the Origins of the American Republic (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013). Weil is also the founder and the chairman of the international NGO Libraries Without Borders (Bibliothèques Sans Frontières)

During his time at the Forum, Weil delivered a public lecture on U.S. nationality laws, tracing their history and evolution.