DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: The Princeton historian mugged by Princeton.

Graeme Wood profiled Xiyue Wang for the Atlantic earlier this year in “The Princeton Historian Mugged by Reality.” Last week the Free Beacon’s Chuck Ross updated the story in “Historian Says Princeton Left Him To ‘Rot’ in Iranian Prison.” Adapting the heading of Wood’s Atlantic profile, the update might be titled “The Princeton Historian Mugged by Princeton.” That is more or less the story told by Wang in the lawsuit he filed against Princeton last month in New Jersey state court (the subject of Ross’s story). I have embedded the complaint below.

Working toward a Ph.D. under the supervision of the eminent Princeton historian Stephen Kotkin, Wang traveled to Tehran for archival research. Wood’s enraging profile tells the story of Wang’s arrest and imprisonment by Iranian authorities in the course of his research. Tortured by the Iranians, Wang “confessed” to being a spy. After 40 months in Evin Prison, he was sprung by the Trump administration.

Wood’s profile captures Wang’s awakening from the falsehoods and illusions about Iran disseminated on campus at Princeton and elsewhere in the United States. He refers to his time in prison as “involuntary fieldwork.” The torture to which he was subjected is a disgusting trademark of the regime, although the time in prison was not entirely wasted. He perfected his Farsi and learned French. French must be something like the tenth language he has learned in the course of his studies.

Reflecting on his long stay in Iran prior to his arrest, Wang told Wood that that he met no supporters of the regime — unlike his time in the United States. Princeton professors talking with him about his imprisonment wanted to blame it on Trump, even though it occurred under Obama and Trump secured his release. Wood quotes Wang: “What are they teaching their students? The facts just don’t matter.”

There’s really only one way to visit Iran properly: As part of a New York Times’ sponsored vacation.