MIT linguistics professor Michel DeGraff says he is suing the university and the US Congress over violations of his academic freedom and free speech rights after MIT rejected his proposed course on language, colonialism and Palestinian liberation.

DeGraff said the university subjected his course to unprecedented scrutiny over its focus on Palestine and Israel, including his use of terms such as “resistance,” “colonialism” and “genocide.”

The professor, who has taught the relationship between language and power for nearly three decades, says he has since been excluded from teaching and departmental activities.