Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-30T14:50:57.108Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

23 - The Political Necessity and Perilous Ambiguity of “Academic Freedom”

from Part II - Ethics and Education in Practice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2024

By
John E. Petrovic  and
Shelby J. Morris
Edited by
Sheron Fraser-Burgess ,
Jessica Heybach  and
Dini Metro-Roland
Sheron Fraser-Burgess
Affiliation:
Ball State University, Indiana
Jessica Heybach
Affiliation:
Florida International University
Dini Metro-Roland
Affiliation:
Western Michigan University
Get access

Summary

This chapter provides definitions of academic freedom and its legal precedents, stemming from the First Amendment. The authors note the tension placed on the concept as it occupies a space between the purposes of democratic legitimation and the promotion of democratic competence. The strain on conceptualizations of academic freedom is exacerbated by a lack of legal clarity and the ambiguity of some of its key elements. Contemporary challenges, including the neoliberalization of the university and political attacks in the form of “divisive concepts” bills, will continue to test the discursive power of “academic freedom.”

Keywords

academic freedomFirst Amendmentdemocratic legitimationautonomydisciplinarity
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Ethics and Education , pp. 485 - 508
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Acker, S., and Webber, M.. “Made to Measure: Early Career Academics in the Canadian University Workplace.” Higher Education Research & Development 36, no. 3 (2017): 541–554. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2017.1288704.Google Scholar
Adler v. Board of Education, 342 U.S. 485 (1952).Google Scholar
American Association of University Professors. “1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure.” AAUP, January 11, 2022. www.aaup.org/report/1940-statement-principles-academic-freedom-and-tenure.Google Scholar
American Association of University Professors. “The 2022 AAUP Survey of Tenure Practices.” May 2022. www.aaup.org/report/2022-aaup-survey-tenure-practices (accessed May 1, 2023).Google Scholar
American Association of University Professors. “Post-Tenure Review: An AAUP Response.” June 1999. www.aaup.org/report/post-tenure-review-aaup-response (accessed May 1, 2023).Google Scholar
American Association of University Professors. “Data Snapshot: Contingent Faculty in US Higher Ed.” October 11, 2018. www.aaup.org/news/data-snapshot-contingent-faculty-us-higher-ed#.ZDbrgXbMKUl (accessed May 1, 2023).Google Scholar
Anderson, Curt. “DeSantis-Backed New College Board Scraps 5 Professors Tenure.” AP News, April 26, 2023. https://apnews.com/article/new-college-florida-tenure-conservatives-desantis-ce711c9169ebe84e9d062ebbb281ebce.Google Scholar
Barnett, Ronald. The Philosophy of Higher Education. New York: Routledge, 2022.Google Scholar
Barringer, Felicity. “Mainstreaming of Marxism in U.S. College.” New York Times, October 25, 1989.Google Scholar
Bero, Lisa. “When Big Companies Fund Academic Research, the Truth Often Comes Last.” The Conversation, October 2, 2019. https://theconversation.com/when-big-companies-fund-academic-research-the-truth-often-comes-last-119164.Google Scholar
Biesta, Gert. “Towards the Knowledge Democracy? Knowledge Production and the Civic Role of the University.” Studies in Philosophy and Education 26, no. 5 (2007): 467–479.Google Scholar
Bishop v. Aronov, 732 F. Supp. 1562 (N.D. Ala. 1990).Google Scholar
Brighouse, Harry. On Education. New York: Routledge, 2006.Google Scholar
Brown, Dara Kam. “Gov. DeSantis Lambastes ‘Ideology’ in FL’s University System and Threatens Tenure for Profs.” Florida Phoenix, January 31, 2023. https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/01/31/gov-desantis-lambastes-ideology-in-fls-university-system-and-threatens-tenure-for-profs/ (accessed May 1, 2023).Google Scholar
Brownlee, Jamie. “Contract Faculty in Canada: Using Access to Information Requests to Uncover Hidden Academics in Canadian Universities.” Higher Education 70 (2015): 787–805.Google Scholar
Dewey, John. “Academic Freedom.” Educational Review 23, no. 1 (1902): 1–14.Google Scholar
Dunn, Sydni. “U. of Illinois Feels Backlash from Scholars Angered by Salaita Case.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 23, 2014. www.chronicle.com/article/u-of-illinois-feels-backlash-from-scholars-angered-by-salaita-case/.Google Scholar
First Global Colloquium of University Presidents. “Statement on Academic Freedom.” 2005. www.columbia.edu/~md2221/global_colloquium.htm (accessed May 1, 2023).Google Scholar
Flaherty, Colleen. “Barely Getting By.” Inside Higher Education, April 19, 2020. www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/04/20/new-report-says-many-adjuncts-make-less-3500-course-and-25000-year (accessed May 1, 2023).Google Scholar
Fuller, Steve. “The Genealogy of Judgment: Towards a Deep History of Academic Freedom.” British Journal of Educational Studies 57, no. 2 (2010): 164–177.Google Scholar
Fulton, David. “‘Uncivil’: Professor Sues University for Free Speech Rights.” News, Center for Constitutional Rights, January 29, 2015. www.commondreams.org/news/2015/01/29/uncivil-professor-sues-university-free-speech-rights (accessed May 1, 2023).Google Scholar
Gallup, Gordon Jr., and Svare, Bruce. “Hijacked by an External Funding Mentality.” Inside Higher Education, July 24, 2016. www.insidehighered.com/views/2016/07/25/undesirable-consequences-growing-pressure-faculty-get-grants-essay (accessed May 1, 2023).Google Scholar
Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410 (2006).Google Scholar
Giroux, Henry. Neoliberalism’s War on Higher Education, 2nd ed. Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2020.Google Scholar
Giroux, Henry. The University in Chains: Confronting the Military-Industrial-Academic Complex. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers, 2007.Google Scholar
Golden, David. “Muzzled by DeSantis, Critical Race Theory Professors Cancel Courses or Modify Their Teaching.” ProPublica, January 3, 2023. www.propublica.org/article/desantis-critical-race-theory-florida-college-professors.Google Scholar
Gordon, Peter. Absolute Freedom: An Interdisciplinary Study. New York: Anthem Press, 2022.Google Scholar
Gutmann, Amy. Democratic Education, revised ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999.Google Scholar
Harvey, David. A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.Google Scholar
Hogan, Patrick C. “The Personal Ethics of Academic Freedom: Problems of Knowledge and Democratic Competence.” Journal of Academic Freedom 6 (2015): 1–15. www.aaup.org/JAF6/personal-ethics-academic-freedom-problems-knowledge-and-democratic-competence#.ZEHzl3bMLrd.Google Scholar
Huber, Lutz. “Towards a New Studium Generale: Some Conclusions.” European Journal of Education 27 (1992): 285–301.Google Scholar
Hugentobler, Manuela, Müller, Marcus, and Morrissey, Franz Andres. “Private Funding and Its Dangers to Academia: An Experience in Switzerland.” European Journal of Higher Education 7, no. 2 (2017): 203–213. doi:10.1080/21568235.2016.1275975.Google Scholar
Jaschik, Scott. “Marymount Eliminates Liberal Arts Degrees.” Inside Higher Education, February 26, 2023. www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2023/02/27/marymount-eliminates-liberal-arts-degrees.Google Scholar
Keyishian v. Board of Regents, 385 U.S. 589 (1967).Google Scholar
Kirkham, Reuben. “Industrial Limitations on Academic Freedom in Computer Science.” Proceedings of Ethicomp 2022. https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/2206/2206.08067.pdf (accessed May 1, 2023).Google Scholar
Kronfelder, Maria. “On How to Distinguish Critique from an Infringement of Academic Freedom.” Philosophy and Theory in Higher Education 5, no. 2. pp. 243–268.Google Scholar
Letizia, Angelo. “Dialectical Constellations of Progress: New Visions of Public Higher Education for the Twenty-First Century.” Journal of Critical Thought & Praxis 2, no. 1 (2013): 55–82.Google Scholar
Lojdová, Kateřina. “The End of Academic Freedom in the Era of Neoliberalism?” Pedagogická Orientace 26, no. 4 (2016): 605–630.Google Scholar
Macfarlane, Bruce. “Reclaiming Democratic Values in the Future University.” Philosophy and Theory in Higher Education 1, no. 3 (2019): 97–113.Google Scholar
Macfarlane, Bruce. “The Impact of COVID-19 and Pandemic Policies on the Freedom to Teach.” Philosophy and Theory in Higher Education 5, no. 2: pp. 223–241.Google Scholar
Mackey, Robert. “Professor’s Angry Tweets on Gaza Cost Him a Job.” New York Times, September 12, 2014. www.nytimes.com/2014/09/13/world/middleeast/professors-angry-tweets-on-gaza-cost-him-a-job.html.Google Scholar
Maisuria, Alpesh, and Helmes, Svenja. Life for the Academic in the Neoliberal University. New York: Routledge, 2019.Google Scholar
Matei, Liviu. “Charting a Course for Academic Freedom in Europe at the Beginning of the 21st Century: Situated Epistemology, Codification, Practice.” Philosophy and Theory in Higher Education 5, no. 2: pp. 269–288.Google Scholar
McLaren, Peter, and Munoz, Carlos J. “Contesting Whiteness: Critical Perspective on the Struggle for Social Justice.” In The Politics of Multiculturalism and Bilingual Education: Students and Teachers Caught in the Cross-Fire, edited by Ovando, Carlos J. and McLaren, Peter, 22–49. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2000.Google Scholar
Mintz, Beth. “Neoliberalism and the Crisis of Higher Education: The Cost of Ideology.” The Journal of Economics and Sociology 80, no. 1 (2021): 79–112.Google Scholar
Mitchell, Michael, Leachman, Michael, and Saenz, Matt. “State Higher Education Funding Cuts Have Pushed Costs to Students, Worsened Inequality.” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, October 24, 2019.Google Scholar
Moore, Keller. “Did You Know? Post-Tenure Review Is Increasingly Common for University Faculty.” James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, June 16, 2022. www.jamesgmartin.center/2022/06/did-you-know-post-tenure-review-is-increasingly-common-for-university-faculty/ (accessed May 1, 2023).Google Scholar
Nissani, Moti. “Ten Cheers for Interdisciplinarity: The Case for Interdisciplinary Knowledge and Research.” The Social Science Journal 34 (1997): 201–216. doi:10.1016/S0362-3319(97)90051-3.Google Scholar
“N.Y. Courts Ponder Feinberg Law Act Would Bar Teachers Belonging to Groups on Subversive List.” The Harvard Crimson, June 20, 1950. www.thecrimson.com/article/1950/6/20/ny-courts-ponder-feinberg-law-act/.Google Scholar
Nygaard, Lynn P. “Publishing and Perishing: An Academic Literacies Framework for Investigating Research Productivity.” Studies in Higher Education 42, no. 3 (2017): 519–532.Google Scholar
Post, Robert C. Democracy, Expertise, and Academic Freedom. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012.Google Scholar
Rothbaum, Mara. “Ron DeSantis Is Destroying Florida’s New College Just Because He Can.” The Nation, March 10, 2023. www.thenation.com/article/society/desantis-new-college/.Google Scholar
Schwartz, Sarah. “Who’s Really Driving Critical Race Theory Legislation? An Investigation.” Education Week, July 19, 2021. www.edweek.org/policy-politics/whos-really-driving-critical-race-theory-legislation-an-investigation/2021/07.Google Scholar
Selwyn, Neil. Distrusting Educational Technology: Critical Questions for Changing Times. New York: Routledge, 2014.Google Scholar
Shore, Cris, and Wright, Susan. “Audit Culture and Anthropology: Neoliberalism in British Higher Education.” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 5, no. 4 (1999): 557–576.Google Scholar
Singh, Manvinder. “Institutionalizing the Public Good: Conceptual and Regulatory Challenges.” In Higher Education as a Public Good, edited by Filippakou, O. and Williams, G., 59–73. New York: Peter Lang, 2015.Google Scholar
Slaughter, Sheila, and Rhoades, Larry L.. “The Neo-Liberal University.” New Labor Forum 6 (2000): 73–79.Google Scholar
Sweezy v. New Hampshire, 354 U.S. 234 (1957).Google Scholar
Tiede, Hans-Joerg. “The 2022 AAUP Survey of Tenure Practices.” American Association of University Professors, 2022. www.aaup.org/report/2022-aaup-survey-tenure-practices.Google Scholar
Tilak, Jandhyala B.G. “Higher Education: A Public Good or a Commodity for Trade?” Prospects 38 (2008): 449–466.Google Scholar
von Humboldt, Wilhelm. “On the Internal and External Organization of the Higher Scientific Institutions in Berlin.” 1810. https://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=3642 (accessed May 1, 2023).Google Scholar
Widmar v. Vincent, 454 U.S. 263 (1981).Google Scholar
Wright, Robert G. “The Emergence of First Amendment Academic Freedom.” Nebraska Law Review 85, no. 3 (2011): 793–829.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×