academic freedom

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• SOURCE: Chronicle of Higher Education
  9/26/2022
  

  Law is Unclear Whether Public College Faculty Have Free Speech Rights in Classroom

  The state of Florida contends that, when operating within approved curricula, in-class instruction becomes the state's speech, obviating the First Amendment. It's unclear how much traction this argument will get in court. 

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• SOURCE: Chronicle of Higher Education
  9/26/2022
  

  U of Idaho Advises Faculty of Legal Jeopardy for Discussing Abortion in Classrooms

  The university's general counsel warned that the vagueness of the state's abortion restrictions means faculty are at risk of prosecution for how they discuss the issue in their classrooms. 

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• SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
  9/26/2022
  

  Why Conservatives Have Turned Against Academic Freedom Again

  by John K. Wilson

  The legacies of William F. Buckley and Ronald Reagan suggest that the right demands freedom for its own perspective that it actively seeks to deny to radical critics of capitalism, religion, and conservatism. 

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• 9/25/2022
  

  Around the World, Censorship of Historians is Tied to Attacks on Democracy

  by Ruben Zeeman

  Teachers and researchers of history are under attack – sometimes literally – by regimes who seek to make history a foundational element of their legitimacy and authority.

• 
• SOURCE: Politico
  9/7/2022
  

  Miami-Dade Schools Reject Proposal for LGBTQ History Month for Fear of Violating "Don't Say Gay" Law

  Though the school board's counsel said that the proposal was likely compliant with the law, the board voted 8-1 against it largely because of the pressure of a vocal group of parents in opposition. A contingent of the Proud Boys neofascist paramilitary organization was seen outside the meeting. 

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• SOURCE: Chronicle of Higher Education
  9/6/2022
  

  The Academic Freedom Crisis at the University of Florida

  An investigation documents the way that academic freedom has been subordinated to the presumed interests of the State of Florida (as aggressively determined by the administration of Governor Ron DeSantis). 

• 
• SOURCE: Texas Observer
  9/8/2022
  

  I was Fired for Asking My Students to Wear Masks

  by Michael Phillips

  Sometimes academic freedom is about the ability of professors to advocate on behalf of the campus community's health against administrators who prefer silence as a matter of political expediency. 

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• SOURCE: Chronicle of Higher Education
  9/6/2022
  

  Colleges Should Quit Trying to Appease the Right

  by Silke-Maria Weineck

  "When J.D. Vance says that 'professors are the enemy,' he is correct. He is our enemy, and we must be his. I welcome his hatred."

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• SOURCE: KCCI
  8/26/2022
  

  For One Iowa Teacher Leaving the Field, Harassment Over Curriculum Played a Big Role

  "You really start to say, 'Well, can I teach about these topics at all? Can I —if a student brings it up — do I feel comfortable addressing that in class'?"

• 
• SOURCE: PEN America
  8/17/2022
  

  PEN America: The Nation's Censored Classrooms

  by Jeremy C. Young and Jonathan Friedman

  "The restrictions and chilling effects of gag order laws threaten to destroy the climate of open inquiry required in free and democratic educational institutions."

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  8/17/2022
  

  States Curtailing Students' Access to Books, Ideas

  In many states, school librarians will be less free to recommend books, and students less free to explore them, with potentially serious consequences for educational quality and personal and intellectual growth, experts argue. 

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• SOURCE: ACLU Florida
  8/18/2022
  

  ACLU, Educators and Students File to Block Florida's "Stop WOKE" Law

  " The bill specifically targets and places vague restrictions on educators’ ability to teach and discuss concepts pertaining to systemic inequalities, including the legacy of slavery in America, white privilege, and anti-racism."

• 
• SOURCE: Chronicle of Higher Education
  8/4/2022
  

  Putting the Tenure Debate in Historical Perspective

  by Adam Sitze

  Academic tenure has much in common with the historial practice of lifetime appointments for judges. Why are academics reluctant to embrace the comparison? 

• 
• SOURCE: Tampa Bay Times
  6/22/2022
  

  DeSantis Proposes Surveying Students, Faculty on Political Views

  "The governor did not name specific state universities or colleges with this problem. He was broad in his accusations about the higher education system and used vague anecdotes to justify the need for such a survey."

• 
• SOURCE: The Root
  7/6/2022
  

  Academics Worry Florida's Academic Legislation is Coming to the Rest of the Nation

  Robert Cassanello is challenging Florida's "Stop WOKE" Act, contending it makes it illegal for him to teach his courses on civil rights history and Reconstruction. 

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• 6/12/2022
  

  Florida's Divisive Concepts Bill Mistakes What Historians Do, with Dire Implications

  by Jessica L. Adler

  The legislation would make it difficult – and even legally risky – for professors to perform the kinds of source-driven teaching that underlies the pedagogical goals of the discipline. 

• 
• SOURCE: KERA
  6/6/2022
  

  Collin College Prof Fired over Speech Lands at SMU

  Michael Phillips will join the Clements Center for Southwest Studies at SMU after his firing from Collin College over social media criticism of Confederate statues and other aspects of racism. 

• 
• SOURCE: Forbes
  6/3/2022
  

  Ellen Schrecker on the Parallels between Today's Attacks on Universities and the 1960s?

  by Marybeth Gasman

  Historian Ellen Schrecker's new book examines how the antiwar movement led the right to mobilize against universities, and the costs of that battle. 

• 
• 6/5/2022
  

  Regimes Around the World are Manipulating History and Threatening Historians

  by Ruben Zeeman

  Official attempts to hinder bona fide historical research and debate through legislation or other means, are the first signals that history is at risk of abuse – such efforts abroad are also a warning to historians in America. 

• 
• SOURCE: Inside Higher Ed
  6/2/2022
  

  Do Heterodox Academy Surveys Tell Us Anything Useful About the Campus Speech Climate?

  Experts debate whether polls showing students perceive stifled speech on controversial subjects are reflecting or driving reality, and if they are being used in a conservative attack on higher education.