‘So to Speak’ podcast: What is academic freedom?

What is academic freedom? And who polices its boundaries?

Our guests on today’s show argue that the popular conception of academic freedom has become too closely connected with the concept of free speech.

Penn State Professor Michael Bérubé and Portland State Professor Jennifer Ruth are the authors of “It’s Not Free Speech: Race, Democracy, and the Future of Academic Freedom.”

Show notes:

• Podcast transcript
• The AAUP’s 1915 and 1940 statements on academic freedom
• The AAUP’s “On Freedom of Expression and Campus Speech Codes”
• “When Professors’ Speech Is Disqualifying” by Michael Bérubé and Jennifer Ruth
• “Democracy, Expertise, and Academic Freedom: A First Amendment Jurisprudence for the Modern State” by Robert C. Post
• “How Genetics Is Changing Our Understanding of ‘Race’” by David Reich
• SUNY Fredonia: Philosophy Professor Suspended for Philosophizing About Pedophilia, the Stephen Kershnar case
• “Hate Speech and the Limits of Free Expression,” Kenyon College panel featuring Ulrich Baer (video)

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