Dr. Johanna Mellis is an Assistant Professor of History at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Much of her work surrounds European history during the Cold War as well as Sports and Olympic History.

In a syllabus provided exclusively to the Professor Watchlist by an anonymous source, Dr. Mellis explicitly states that certain viewpoints will be prohibited in her class. The course in question is tilted, “HIST/GWSS-377 The Cold War in Europe: Immigrants, Labor, and Gender.”

According to the syllabi, the course will help students “reflect” on their “pro-Western biases” regarding the Cold War.

Dr. Mellis had previously tweeted how the West privileges “anti-Communist resistance” to serve a political agenda.

Among the required reading, Dr. Mellis assigns the article, “Why Women Had Better Sex Under Socialism.” Published in the New York Times in 2017, the piece argues that women enjoyed sexual equality and more rights under Communism than their counterparts in Western nations.

Under the section, “Online Course Expectations,” Dr. Mellis addresses each student who is, “experiencing the pandemic and the anti-racist uprisings.” She is referring to the then-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter (BLM) riots occurring throughout the summer and fall months of 2020 as the course was conducted.

According to a study conducted by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), BLM can be linked to 95% of the riots around the country–notably in Summer 2020 following the death of George Floyd. In an analysis of the study, The Federalist found, “of the 633 incidents coded as riots, 88 percent are recorded as involving Black Lives Matter Activists.” The resulting riots were the largest in American history, causing an estimated $2 billion in damages and 47 deaths.

Dr. Mellis had voiced support for the riots, tweeting the “racial uprisings” were “much needed” and “heartening.”

In one section of the syllabus, titled “Inclusion Statement,” Dr. Mellis writes that she strives to create a classroom where everyone feels “safe and valued” and asks each student to “show respect to others.” Continuing, she states, “Viewpoints that oppress others—specifically those that reinforce white supremacist culture—will not be tolerated.”

She previously expressed her intent to censor certain discussions in the classroom in order to prevent certain ideas from “contributing to the historical oppression” of her students.

Dr. Mellis regularly lambasts various persons, concepts, and figures that she considers as a white supremacist, racist, or oppressive on her personal Twitter account. The following include (but are not limited to) examples that Dr. Mellis would categorize as prohibited topics of discussion in her class:

– The United States

– Calling for academics to be “objective” in their work.

– Commemorating the 9/11 terrorist attacks,

– Telling others to be positive,

– Swimming,

– Swimming Pools,

– A conservative world view,

– The nation of Israel,

– White women,

– And calling for unity and healing,

Dr. Mellis had previously made headlines for her accusation that ESPN host Dan Dakich had “violated her” during an interview for remarking that she was “bitching” during an online exchange.

The Professor Watchlist team reached out to Dr. Mellis prior to publication but has not received a response by the time of publication. She has switched her personal Twitter account to private after being contacted for comment.

Students and Parents may contact the History Department of Ursinus University at (610) 409-3595 or at history@ursinus.edu

Updated – November 9, 2021