This is a guest post by Cary Nelson, past president of the AAUP and Jubilee Professor at the University of Illinois. Recognizing that the financial services industry succeeded in bringing the world economy to its knees, the University of Delaware administration apparently decided it was time to give them a crack at higher education. An…
John K. Wilson has very succinctly highlighted the hullabaloo surrounding an innocuous e-mail by Rachel Slocum, a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse, which Chancellor Joe Gow has helped to escalate into a political controversy provoking all sorts of partisan responses from places well beyond the institution. I think that it…
In a grotesque violation of academic freedom, University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse Chancellor Joe Gow has banned faculty from criticizing Republican Party policies. Rachel Slocum, assistant professor of geography, sent an email to her students explaining that they were unable to use the Census Bureau website because of the government shutdown by “Republican/Tea-Party controlled House of Representatives.” Gow called…
In New Ulm, Minnesota, a small town 85 miles southwest of Minneapolis, this Friday was supposed to be the opening night for a production of “Inherit the Wind,” the classic play written more than a half-century ago depicting a fictionalized version of the 1925 Scopes Monkey trial. Instead, the play has been shut down due to opposition…
This is a guest post by Marjorie Heins, a contributor to the newest issue of the Journal of Academic Freedom. Professor Heins teaches “Censorship in American Culture and Law” at New York University and is a member of the AAUP’s Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure. In 2005, a coalition of Palestinian organizations issued a call…
This is a guest post by Jan Clausen, a co-contributor with Eva Swidler to the newest volume of the Journal of Academic Freedom. Professor Clausen teaches in the Goddard College Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program and serves as chair of the union bargaining team for the latest round of faculty contract negotiations. She is…
In 2010, the AAUP began publication of the Journal of Academic Freedom, an annual, online-only publication. Each year, we’ve published articles on current issues in academic freedom, and this year we are proud to announce that the fourth volume is now available on our website. Volume 4 of JAF focuses on issues of academic freedom in a global…
Kudos to John K. Wilson for illustrating what David Guth’s critics have themselves said online. For anyone on the Far Right to criticize “intemperate” speech or writings by anyone else is an absolute joke. Even if individuals on the Far Right aren’t themselves guilty of “offensive” speech or writings, as Patricia Stoneking clearly is in…
What happened at Kansas University this week completely disgusted me, and everyone who believes in academic freedom, or any kind of freedom, should agree. Professor David Guth tweeted in response to one of the gun-related mass shootings this week: “The blood is on the hands of the #NRA. Next time, let it be YOUR sons…
As American universities start to collaborate more closely with colleges and universities in other countries, ticklish questions are beginning to arise. Oh yes, the questions have been around for a long time, but only now are they beginning to have an impact on American faculties. Few places in the world outside of the US and…