SPECIAL REPORT: Academic Freedom
Academic freedom is under threat in many nations around the world. Yet, as the Canadian Association of University Teachers says, post-secondary educational institutions serve the common good of society by searching for and disseminating knowledge, truth and understanding – and by fostering independent thinking and expression among academic staff and students. “Robust democracies require no less. These ends cannot be achieved without academic freedom,” the union declares.
In this special series of reports, our correspondents discuss the situation in their countries.
US: Academics confront a political minefield
John K Wilson
American academics are under attack from a growing group of right-wing politicians and ideologues who accuse the nation's higher education system of being dominated by liberal professors and administrators. The political backlash has included efforts by state legislatures and Congress to control higher education and ban political discussions in the classroom and on campus, as well as restrictions on visas by the Bush administration against controversial professors.
Full report on the University World News site
Longer analysis by John K Wilson in the Features section.
I've been teaching at one American University or another continuously since 1963. As far as I've experienced, radicals, Marxists, etc are few and far between. There is a scattering of Liberals who tend to be found in Sociology, Anthropology and English departments. Forget the sciences and of course administrators.
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