Tyler Austin Harper

Tyler Austin Harper is an American writer and former academic. He is a staff writer at The Atlantic and was previously a professor of environmental studies at Bates College. The Chronicle of Higher Education has described him as an observer of academic politics known for criticism of racial tokenism, ideological conformity, and threats to academic freedom.

Career Harper received a Ph.D. in comparative literature from New York University.

In 2025, he joined The Atlantic as a staff writer, after previously contributing to the magazine.

In August 2026, Harper published "Why I Quit the Tenure Track", an essay about his experiences at Bates and his criticisms of academic culture. The essay was subsequently the subject of an interview with Harper in The Chronicle of Higher Education. NPR's Morning Edition subsequently interviewed Harper about the case and its broader lessons.