By Ildikó Bíró, European Conservative. (Image: Bible Historiale – medieval French Bible)
Ildikó Bíró interviews Professor of Modern Literature Xavier-Laurent Salvador.
Xavier-Laurent Salvador is a renowned French scholar, specializing in linguistics, digital literacies, medieval literature, and Biblical texts. He is the co-editor of the book Future of Academia: Against the Awakened Obscurantism and editor-in-chief of Observatory of Decolonialism. He was recently hosted by MCC Budapest for a presentation of the book that, as this publication also reported, was first suppressed but then, following a major backlash, released this spring. While in Hungary, he granted an interview to europeanconservative.com.
Let me ask you about your background first. I understand you are a specialist in medieval literature. That is a scientific field that could in theory not be farther from politics. How did you become interested and involved in the fight against wokeism? Were you affected personally?
Yes, my academic field is medieval literature, and at first sight, it has nothing to do with politics. But in fact, it was precisely because of this distance that I could see clearly when ideological distortions entered the university. My research on Old French and the Bible showed me how important it is to preserve historical truth against anachronism and revisionism. When colleagues tried to cancel lectures on [the problems with] inclusive writing, and when I personally faced disciplinary procedures while simply teaching philology, I realized this was no longer scholarship, but an attempt to silence. That personal experience pushed me into the fight.
You are known for being part of the Observatory of University Ethics initiative. When was that launched, and what is the purpose of it?
It was launched in 2021. Its purpose is to monitor, document, and analyze cases where ideology undermines academic freedom and the integrity of teaching and research. We provide evidence-based reports, we support colleagues under pressure, and we aim to show the public what is really happening inside universities—normally very closed institutions.