Academic freedom has been a principle that undergirds the university since 1915. Beyond this, it also protects a spirit of free inquiry essential to a democratic society. But in the post-9/11 present, the basic principles of academic freedom have been deeply challenged. There have been many startling instances where the rhetoric of national security and terror, corporate interests, and privatization have cast a pall over the terrain of academic freedom. In the post-9/11 university, professors face job loss or tenure denial for speaking against state power, while their students pay more tuition and fall deeper in debt. This timely collection features an impressive assembly of the nation s leading intellectuals, addressing some of the most urgent issues facing higher education in the United States today. Spanning a wide array of disciplinary fields, Academic Freedom in the Post-9/11 Era seeks to intervene on the economic and political crises that are compromising the future of our educational institutions.

“The best kind of scholarship—deeply researched and immensely useful. Wherever you stand on issues of free speech and academic freedom, you will learn from this book.” —Michael Roth, President of Wesleyan University and author of Safe Enough Spaces A definitive interpretation of academic freedom as a First Amendment right, drawing on a comprehensive survey of legal cases. Is academic freedom a First Amendment right? Many think so, yet its relationship to free speech as guaranteed by the Constitution is anything but straightforward. David Rabban examines the extensive case law addressing academic freedom and free speech at American universities, developing a robust theory of academic freedom as a distinctive subset of First Amendment law. In subsuming academic freedom under the First Amendment, Rabban emphasizes the societal value of the contribution to knowledge made by the expert speech of professors, the classic justification for academic freedom in the influential 1915 Declaration of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). Any indication that professors might be disciplined because people without academic training disagree with their scholarly views would undermine confidence in the integrity of their work and therefore their ability to perform this vital function on behalf of the public. Rabban argues that academic freedom fosters two central First Amendment values recognized by courts in a wide range of contexts: the production and dissemination of knowledge and the contribution of free expression to democratic citizenship. The First Amendment right of academic freedom applies most directly to professors, but it also plausibly extends to the educational decisions of universities and to students’ learning interests. More broadly, this vision of academic freedom can guide in developing additional distinctive First Amendment rights to protect the expert expression of journalists, librarians, museum curators, and other professionals. At a time when academic freedom is under attack from many directions, Academic Freedom proposes a theoretically satisfying and practically useful guide to its meaning as a First Amendment right.

This is a provocative examination of the current state of academic freedom in the United States and around the world.

Most statements today about higher education begin with the assumption that it should be relevant. That it should be relevant, however, does not settle the matter. The significance of relevance depends on the power of something else that is more fundamental. Relevance may be a true standard of judgment, but it does not stand by itself. Assuming higher education should be relevant, the question emerges, relevant to what? Why? How? At what costs? And, relevant in what sense? These are some of the central questions animating this study. The Relevance of Higher Education: Exploring a Contested Notion, edited by Timothy L. Simpson examines the relevance of higher education by bringing together the work of historians, political scientists, and educational philosophers. The contributors probe the meaning of relevance in its many guises, providing an historical and philosophical account of the roots of this concept and its impact on the institution of higher education. Furthermore, The Relevance of Higher Education provides a critical evaluation of the impact of relevance on our understanding of the political and economic relationship between higher education and society. This study suggests views of relevance that could guide the future of higher education. By providing penetrating analysis, this text thoroughly explores relevance and its underlying assumptions, potential implications and long-lasting effects on higher education and society. The Relevance of Higher Education provides the tools necessary to develop a rich framework for understanding relevance and its impact on higher education and society.

Islam and Higher Education in Transitional Societies explores and illuminates the intersection of Islam and higher education in changing societies. The critical question explored in this book is, what role does Islam play in higher education in transitional societies?

For more than a century academics have had unique rights not enjoyed by other citizens -- to speak, teach, and write freely. Central to the case for academic freedom is that scholars must be able to voice their views free of fear in order for society to gain a better understanding of ourselves and our world. Academic freedom has always faced challenges. Professors have been pressed to alter their work because it offends powerful interests -- both inside and outside the university. Some have been fired or denied jobs for their political views, their criticisms of colleagues and administrators, and their refusal to buckle under corporate pressures to hush up research findings. The sixteen contributors to this volume cite many such instances in Canada and the U.S. More significantly, they point out how governments, corporations, and university administrators today are seeking to narrow academic freedom. Among them: Major donors are acquiring control over university teaching and even hiring decisions University administrators are firing professors with unpopular political views, while pretending that the reasons for their decisions lie elsewhere Governments are using funding mechanisms to force-feed research in some areas, while shutting down inquiry in others Campus-wide policies enforcing civility rules are preventing criticism and debate within a university Judges are issuing decisions which reverse previous rulings supporting academic freedom in the U.S. and Canada Together the contributors to this book document the many arenas in which academic freedom is in jeopardy and explore its legitimate limits.

In the United States today, the term "terrorism" conjures up images of dangerous, outside threats: religious extremists and suicide bombers in particular. Harder to see but all the more pervasive is the terrorism perpetuated by the United States itself, whether through military force overseas or woven into the very fabric of society at home. Henry Giroux, in this passionate and incisive book, turns the conventional wisdom on terrorism upside down, demonstrating how fear and lawlessness have become organizing principles of life in the United States, and violence an acceptable form of social mediation. He addresses the most pressing issues of the moment, from officially sanctioned torture to militarized police forces to austerity politics. Giroux also examines the ongoing degradation of the education system and how young people in particular suffer its more nefarious outcomes. Against this grim picture, Giroux posits a politics of hope and a commitment to accurate-and radical-historical memory. He draws on a long, distinguished career developing the tenets of critical pedagogy to propose a cure for our addiction to terrorism: a kind of "public pedagogy" that challenges the poisoned narratives of "America's dis-imagination machine."

In recent years, the academy has undergone significant changes: a more competitive and volatile job market has led to widespread precarity, teaching and service loads have become more burdensome, and higher education is becoming increasingly corporatized. In this revised and expanded edition of The Academic's Handbook, more than fifty contributors from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds offer practical advice for academics at every career stage, whether they are first entering the job market or negotiating the post-tenure challenges of leadership and administrative roles. Contributors affirm what is exciting and fulfilling about academic work while advising readers about how to set and protect boundaries around their energy and labor. In addition, the contributors tackle topics such as debates regarding technology, social media, and free speech on campus; publishing and grant writing; attending to the many kinds of diversity among students, staff, and faculty; and how to balance work and personal responsibilities. A passionate and compassionate volume, The Academic's Handbook is an essential guide to navigating life in the academy. Contributors. Luis Alvarez, Steven Alvarez, Eladio Bobadilla, Genevieve Carpio, Marcia Chatelain, Ernesto Chávez, Miroslava Chávez-García, Nathan D. B. Connolly, Jeremy V. Cruz, Cathy N. Davidson, Sarah Deutsch, Brenda Elsey, Sylvanna M. Falcón, Michelle Falkoff, Kelly Fayard, Matthew W. Finkin, Lori A. Flores, Kathryn J. Fox, Frederico Freitas, Neil Garg, Nanibaa’ A. Garrison, Joy Gaston Gayles, Tiffany Jasmin González, Cynthia R. Greenlee, Romeo Guzmán, Lauren Hall-Lew, David Hansen, Heidi Harley, Laura M. Harrison, Sonia Hernández, Sharon P. Holland, Elizabeth Q. Hutchison, Deborah Jakubs, Bridget Turner Kelly, Karen Kelsky, Stephen Kuusisto, Magdalena Maczynska, Sheila McManus, Cary Nelson, Jocelyn H. Olcott, Rosanna Olsen, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Charles Piot, Bryan Pitts, Sarah Portnoy, Laura Portwood-Stacer, Yuridia Ramirez, Meghan K. Roberts, John Elder Robison, David Schultz, Lynn Stephen, James E. Sutton, Antar A. Tichavakunda, Keri Watson, Ken Wissoker, Karin Wulf

More than 150 key social issues confronting the United States today are covered in this eight-volume set: from abortion and adoption to capital punishment and corporate crime; from obesity and organized crime to sweatshops and xenophobia.

After 9/11, liberal professors and students faced an onslaught of attacks on their patriotism and academic freedom. In a lively narrative this book tells the story of attacks on academic freedom in the past five years. It highlights nationally prominent and lesser known cases, drawing upon media reports, university documents, and reports and studies seldom seen by the public. It shows how conservative attacks on higher education distort the facts in order to pursue an assault on liberal ideas. A wave of Web sites and think-tanks urge students to spy on their professors for any sign of deviation from the new PC: Patriotic Correctness. Free speech on campus is facing its greatest threat in a half century, and Patriotic Correctness: Academic Freedom and Its Enemies documents the danger to rights and looks to solutions for ensuring and promoting the free exchange of ideas requisite in any thriving democracy.