Criticisms of academic freedom miss the mark and risk the integrity of scholarship
While academic freedom itself might sound like a unique notion, granting special tools or rights to specific professions is rather commonplace.
In the era of today鈥檚 heated culture wars, the concepts of academic freedom and freedom of expression have become increasingly conflated. Divisive political debates around聽,听聽and talk of establishing 鈥溾�� are just some recent examples. Academic freedom is being subsumed into the oftentimes polarizing rhetoric concerning what is commonly referred to as free speech.
But the two are different. Free speech is about the right to express one鈥檚 opinion, however accurate, false, good or bad it might be.
Academic freedom requires professional competency as determined by disciplinary communities. It is most succinctly defined by the聽聽as, 鈥渇reedom of inquiry and research; freedom of teaching within the university or college; and freedom of extramural utterance and action.鈥�
This is what makes laws like Qu茅bec鈥檚 Bill 32 problematic. It further聽聽between freedom of speech and academic freedom. Bill 32 is troubling because it grants the government special powers to dictate what happens in university classrooms. That聽聽the very principles of academic freedom its proponents are purportedly trying to protect.
Academic freedom 鈥� and the corresponding protections of tenure 鈥� are often portrayed by conservative politicians and spokespersons as a聽聽demanded by professors looking for a cushy frill few others enjoy. That kind of narrative might be convenient fodder for populists trying to gain support for their own agendas, but is the need for academic freedom really all that unusual?
The truth is that, while academic freedom itself might sound like a unique notion, granting special tools or rights to specific professions is rather commonplace.
Work-specific considerations are common
In order to effectively carry out the duties, tasks and responsibilities of one鈥檚 employment, workers in many fields are granted special access or consideration to otherwise publicly restricted tools, working conditions or rights.
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