Academic Freedom in an Age of Political Correctness
In 2010, a seemingly insignificant event in a far-off land caught my eye. The Israeli academic world was having a fracas over the actions of “post-Zionist” faculty that raised important…
Posts tagged with
“academic freedom”
The University of Chicago’s Support for Free Speech Sparks Opposition
Last month, just before the new academic year began, the University of Chicago’s dean of students, John Ellison, sent a letter (reproduced in this piece) to all incoming students. It…
Academic Freedom in the Age of Political Correctness
The current consensus on academic freedom in higher education is crumbling and a new framework that more equitably represents all stakeholders – faculty, students, administrators, and society – is urgently…
UnFree My Campus
Freedom of speech has been under siege at many American colleges and universities. Sometimes the attack comes from aggressive students who can’t stand having others say things they disagree with,…
Students Learn Climate Change Advocacy, Not Climate Science
For almost thirty years, I have taught climate science at three different universities. What I have observed is that students are increasingly being fed climate change advocacy as a surrogate…
When university boards of governance actually govern
It is heartwarming to see state officials do the jobs they were elected to do. Too often they have shied away from their obligations to ensure that the university system adheres to appropriate standards of scholarship.
Stanley Fish on the five schools of thought about academic freedom
When we speak about “academic freedom” what, exactly, do we mean? How far should academic freedom extend? How do we know when someone claiming it has actually abused it?
Doubts about the integrity of Confucius Institutes lead to mounting criticism
What are the limits of the partnerships that a public institution of higher education may form? A growing number of critics, including university officials and faculty, argue that accepting funding and academic influence from the communist Chinese government crosses a line.
Can Money Contaminate a College?
You would think so, given the way a Brooklyn College dean avoided a multimillion-dollar grant opportunity.
Academic Freedom
Today’s university is rife with competing claims about academic freedom. Although it is similar to the freedom of speech that all Americans enjoy, academic freedom has developed into a more specific guarantee for scholars and teachers. This new paper by Donald Downs, professor of political science, law, and journalism at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, explains what is meant by the term and to whom it applies.