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Understanding Academic Freedom

Henry Reichman

second edition
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In the evolving landscape of academic freedom in America, this second edition addresses the latest challenges and developments in the field.

Since the publication of the first edition of Understanding Academic Freedom, the never-ending struggle to defend academic freedom has entered a demonstrably new phase. Legislation determining what can and cannot be taught in schools in Florida, Texas, and other states has intensified governing board activism that impinges on widely accepted faculty prerogatives. Major donors in research, teaching, and institutional governance have grown bold in their...

In the evolving landscape of academic freedom in America, this second edition addresses the latest challenges and developments in the field.

Since the publication of the first edition of Understanding Academic Freedom, the never-ending struggle to defend academic freedom has entered a demonstrably new phase. Legislation determining what can and cannot be taught in schools in Florida, Texas, and other states has intensified governing board activism that impinges on widely accepted faculty prerogatives. Major donors in research, teaching, and institutional governance have grown bold in their interference. Highly polarizing controversies over antisemitism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as debates over diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, continue to broil.

Taken as a whole, these developments indicate that we have entered a new period in the history of American academic freedom. Academic freedom, long heralded as a core value of American higher education, may now be in as much danger as at any time since the 1950s. But what is academic freedom? Is it the right of faculty members to teach whatever they wish; a value upheld for supporters, but not opponents, amid polarizing controversy; or a narrow claim of privilege by a professorial elite, immune from public accountability? Henry Reichman, who chaired the American Association of University Professors' Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure for nearly a decade, mounts a rigorous defense of academic freedom and its principal means of protection: the system of academic tenure.

Probing academic freedom's role in multiple contexts, Reichman draws on a wealth of historical and contemporary examples to offer a comprehensive introduction to the concept in all its manifestations. This second edition addresses the most recent and pressing issues in academic freedom, making it an indispensable resource for understanding the current controversial climate.

Reviews

Reviews

Henry Reichman's introduction to academic freedom gives the concept and its history a needed clarity. It's the best book there is on the topic.

Some books you keep on your bookshelf; other books you need on your desk. Anyone whose work is related to academic freedom will want Understanding Academic Freedom within arm's reach. This new edition confronts the recent threats that have made the topic even more important now than ever.

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Book Details

Release Date
Publication Date
Status
Preorder
Trim Size
5
x
8
Pages
320
ISBN
9781421450940
Table of Contents

Introduction
1. History
2. Research
3. Teaching
4. Citizenship
5. Tenure
6. Law
7. Students
8. Knowledge
Appendix: Principles of Academic Freedom
Further Reading
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index

Author Bio
Henry Reichman
Featured Contributor

Henry Reichman

Henry Reichman is professor emeritus of history at California State University, East Bay. The author of The Future of Academic Freedom—which won the Eli M. Oboler Memorial Award from the American Library Association—and Censorship and Selection: Issues and Answers for Schools, he chaired the American Association of University Professors’ Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure from 2012 to 2021...