
The Future of Academic Freedom
Henry Reichman(Author)
Johns Hopkins University Press
Will be published approx. on 28. May 2019
Book
Hardback
376 pages
978-1-4214-2858-1 (ISBN)
Description
Few issues are as hotly debated or misunderstood as academic freedom. Reichman's book sheds light on and brings clarity to those debates.
Winner of the Eli M. Oboler Memorial Award by the American Library Association
Academic freedom-crucial to the health of American higher education-is threatened on many fronts. In The Future of Academic Freedom, a leading scholar equips us to defend academic freedom by illuminating its meaning, the challenges it faces, and its relation to freedom of expression.
In the wake of the 2016 election, challenges to academic freedom have intensified, higher education has become a target of attacks by conservatives, and issues of free speech on campus have grown increasingly controversial. In this book, Henry Reichman cuts through much of the rhetoric to issue a clarion call on behalf of academic freedom as it has been defined and defended by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) for over a hundred years. Along the way, he makes it clear that this is the issue of our day.
Over the course of ten audacious essays, Reichman explores the theory, history, and contemporary practice of academic freedom. He pays attention to such varied concerns as the meddling of politicians and corporate trustees in curriculum and university governance, the role of online education, the impact of social media, the rights of student protesters and outside speakers, the relationship between collective bargaining and academic freedom, and the influence on research and teaching of ideologically motivated donors. Significantly, he debunks myths about the strength of the alleged opposition to free expression posed by student activism and shows that the expressive rights of students must be defended as part of academic freedom.
Based on broad reading in such diverse fields as educational theory, law, history, and political science, as well as on the AAUP's own investigative reporting, The Future of Academic Freedom combines theoretical sweep with the practical experience of its author, a leader and activist in the AAUP who is an expert on campus free speech. The issues Reichman considers-which are the subjects of daily conversation on college and university campuses nationwide as well as in the media-will fascinate general readers, students, and scholars alike.
Winner of the Eli M. Oboler Memorial Award by the American Library Association
Academic freedom-crucial to the health of American higher education-is threatened on many fronts. In The Future of Academic Freedom, a leading scholar equips us to defend academic freedom by illuminating its meaning, the challenges it faces, and its relation to freedom of expression.
In the wake of the 2016 election, challenges to academic freedom have intensified, higher education has become a target of attacks by conservatives, and issues of free speech on campus have grown increasingly controversial. In this book, Henry Reichman cuts through much of the rhetoric to issue a clarion call on behalf of academic freedom as it has been defined and defended by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) for over a hundred years. Along the way, he makes it clear that this is the issue of our day.
Over the course of ten audacious essays, Reichman explores the theory, history, and contemporary practice of academic freedom. He pays attention to such varied concerns as the meddling of politicians and corporate trustees in curriculum and university governance, the role of online education, the impact of social media, the rights of student protesters and outside speakers, the relationship between collective bargaining and academic freedom, and the influence on research and teaching of ideologically motivated donors. Significantly, he debunks myths about the strength of the alleged opposition to free expression posed by student activism and shows that the expressive rights of students must be defended as part of academic freedom.
Based on broad reading in such diverse fields as educational theory, law, history, and political science, as well as on the AAUP's own investigative reporting, The Future of Academic Freedom combines theoretical sweep with the practical experience of its author, a leader and activist in the AAUP who is an expert on campus free speech. The issues Reichman considers-which are the subjects of daily conversation on college and university campuses nationwide as well as in the media-will fascinate general readers, students, and scholars alike.
Reviews / Votes
. . . first and foremost, this is about professors-their rights and limits both in and out of the classroom. Should they be able to toss out new, sometimes controversial ideas to help students think in different ways? Are they allowed to say and do what they want on their own time? Reichman's experience as both a professor and an AAUP officer and chair of one of its committees give weight to his arguments.-Library Journal Reichman's tone is somehow hopeful, as if he's arming advocates with the history, knowledge and tools they need to fight the good fight - not just for the future of academic freedom but for higher education in general.
-Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Ed Henry Reichman's fine book needs to be read and discussed . . . Refreshingly free of vanguardism, but deeply convinced of (and convincing on) the strengths and vulnerabilities of academic freedom in his unevenly admirable homeland, he casts the chapters gathered here as responses to aptly searching questions . . . Joan Scott's Foreword strikes notes of candour, insight, and defiance that echo through Reichman's, rich, unyielding prose.
-Len Findlay, University of Saskatchewan, CAUT Bulletin (Canadian Association of University Teachers)
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Baltimore, MD
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 208 mm
Width: 131 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
472 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4214-2858-1 (9781421428581)
DOI
10.1353/book.66177
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Henry Reichman
The Future of Academic Freedom
E-Book
05/2019
Johns Hopkins University Press
€22.49
Available for download
Persons
Henry Reichman is emeritus professor of history at California State University, East Bay, and chair of the AAUP's Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure. He is the author of Censorship and Selection: Issues and Answers for Schools.
Content
Foreword, by Joan Wallach Scott
Preface
1. Does Academic Freedom Have a Future?
2. How Can Academic Freedom Be Justified?
3. Can Faculty Speak Freely as Citizens?
4. Can I Tweet That?
5. Can Outside Donors Endanger Academic Freedom?
6. Will Online Education Cure the "Cost Disease"?
7. Do Students Have Academic Freedom?
8. Are Invited Speakers Entitled to a Platform?
9. Can Unions Defend Academic Freedom?
10. What Is the Future of Academic Freedom under the
Trump Regime?
Notes
Index
Preface
1. Does Academic Freedom Have a Future?
2. How Can Academic Freedom Be Justified?
3. Can Faculty Speak Freely as Citizens?
4. Can I Tweet That?
5. Can Outside Donors Endanger Academic Freedom?
6. Will Online Education Cure the "Cost Disease"?
7. Do Students Have Academic Freedom?
8. Are Invited Speakers Entitled to a Platform?
9. Can Unions Defend Academic Freedom?
10. What Is the Future of Academic Freedom under the
Trump Regime?
Notes
Index
In the face of all the fake news we've had about campus life in the twenty-first century, Henry Reichman's book comes as a welcome relief. The Future of Academic Freedom is an engaging, detailed, and thorough study of the meaning, history, uses, and abuses of academic freedom.
-Joan Wallach Scott, from the Foreword
-Joan Wallach Scott, from the Foreword