Academic freedom is under attack. It has been under threat by governments which accuse universities of indoctrinating students. It has been under attack by a managerial class which is hostile to critical thinking – especially when it questions the current state of academia itself – and transforms universities into a place of compliance and alignment to institutional strategies. Academic freedom has also been weakened within academia by academics themselves due to a lack of support and solidarity for colleagues under attack. Thus, when we believe that academic freedom sits “at the very core of the mission of the university [,is] essential to teaching and researching” (Altbach, 2001, p. 205) as well as for the development of a just society, there is much to worry about given its dire state.
In June 2023, we (Carlos Azevedo and Ronald Hartz) organized a workshop about the current state of academic freedom at the International Critical Management Studies at Nottingham Trent University, UK (see Workshop 9 at https://www.ntu.ac.uk/study-and-courses/academic-schools/nottingham-business-school/nbs-research/13th-international-critical-management-studies-conference2). To debate this pressing topic, we invited experts familiar with specific cases of attacks on academic freedom and scholars directly affected by them: David Harvie, Liz Morrish, Samer Abdelnour, Susanne Täuber, and Uzma Jamil.
In the hope of keeping the momentum of this workshop alive, the aim of this series of webinars is to deepen and widen the discussion about current attacks on academic freedom and to ask what needs to be done to confront these threats and to strengthen the principle of academic freedom.
Altbach, P.G. (2001). Academic freedom: International realities and challenges. Higher Education, 41, 205-219.
Academic Freedom Under Attack 