How to Develop Free Speech on Campus
International Controversies and Communities of Inquiry
Will be published approx. on 11. November 2025
Book
Hardback
246 pages
978-1-0353-4211-2 (ISBN)
Description
This How to guide addresses the complex debate around free speech and academic freedom within universities and provides proven pedagogic responses to the issues raised. Contributors showcase and dissect case studies of universities' failures and successes in dealing with issues including 'culture wars', 'woke'/ 'antiwoke' disputes, antisemitism, decolonising the curriculum, Islamophobia, Israel-Palestine and racism. Eighteen chapters encompass eight countries from the UK to North America and Japan.
Drawing on linguistics, philosophy and sociology, contributing authors propose practical solutions to help universities respond to verbal hostility and volatile campaigns. These are designed to facilitate universities' commitment to conversation. They focus on discussions around the table, use of in-person writing exercises and online pedagogy, with the aim of fostering academic freedom on campus. The book first assesses the new UK guidance on freedom of speech legislation. It then explores the political use of legislation internationally to regulate speech on campus. Finally, it offers practical pedagogic alternatives to square ethical principles with contextual practicalities.
Academic staff across the social sciences, humanities and law alongside university administrators and senior management will benefit from this book's theoretical and practical insights into freedom of speech on campus. Sharing the risk of disagreement is an academic freedom obligation within agreed academic parameters. This will also be an engaging and accessible read for student services and student unions, and an informative resource on these contemporary issues for journalists and politicians.
Drawing on linguistics, philosophy and sociology, contributing authors propose practical solutions to help universities respond to verbal hostility and volatile campaigns. These are designed to facilitate universities' commitment to conversation. They focus on discussions around the table, use of in-person writing exercises and online pedagogy, with the aim of fostering academic freedom on campus. The book first assesses the new UK guidance on freedom of speech legislation. It then explores the political use of legislation internationally to regulate speech on campus. Finally, it offers practical pedagogic alternatives to square ethical principles with contextual practicalities.
Academic staff across the social sciences, humanities and law alongside university administrators and senior management will benefit from this book's theoretical and practical insights into freedom of speech on campus. Sharing the risk of disagreement is an academic freedom obligation within agreed academic parameters. This will also be an engaging and accessible read for student services and student unions, and an informative resource on these contemporary issues for journalists and politicians.
Reviews / Votes
'Free speech and academic freedom on university campuses face severe challenges worldwide today. This book explains why, illustrates the impact of global politics on higher education and provides examples of how inclusive "communities of inquiry" on university campuses can provide safe spaces of constructive disagreement. Thoughtfully curated and drawing on diverse examples from across the globe, this book is a very timely and essential reading for scholars, students, policy makers and activists.' -- Yafa Shanneik, SOAS, University of London, UK 'In the 2020s Israel, Palestine and Antisemitism became some of the most divisive subjects in Western university classrooms, campuses and between universities' administration and governments. This rich volume of theoretical articles and case-studies, calls to struggle for preserving academic freedom and offers tools on how to achieve it. Essential reading for faculty members, politicians and public intellectuals caring about freedom of speech and inquiry.' -- Menachem Klein, Professor Emeritus, Bar Ilan University, Israel 'A book that does not merely analyse the root causes and contradictions of the "free speech on campus" problem, but demonstrates how universities can remain spaces of problem-solving and brave interaction in a conflicted world. Refreshing, pragmatic, versatile - and utterly timely.' -- Torsten Janson, Lund University, SwedenMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cheltenham
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-0353-4211-2 (9781035342112)
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
Persons
Edited by Alison Frances Scott-Baumann, Professor of Society and Belief, College of Law, SOAS University of London, UK and Hasan Pandor, College of Law, SOAS University of London, UK
Content
Contents
Foreword: free speech and academic freedom in the university xvii
Adam Habib
1 Introduction to issues around academic freedom and freedom of speech in the 2020s in the UK and internationally 1
Alison Scott-Baumann and Hasan Pandor
PART 1 FREE SPEECH LEGISLATION ON CAMPUS IN THE UK
2 'Within the law': the legal framework for free speech on campus in England and Wales 10
Smita Jamdar
3 Counter-extremism policies and free speech in UK universities 24
Layla Aitlhadj and John Holmwood
4 Students' unions: building confidence and reducing risk 38
Jim Dickinson
PART 2 POLITICS AND POSSIBILITIES
5 Academic freedom in Australia 49
Anjalee de Silva, Katharine Gelber, and Adrienne Stone
6 Fighting the end of academic freedom in Florida's university system: a cautionary legal tale 63
Adriana Novoa
7 Free speech and academic freedom in higher education in the Netherlands: pedagogical challenges 77
Daan F. Oostveen
8 Freedom of speech on Palestine at a German university: a case study 91
Vered Berman
9 The dynamics of campus free speech in Japanese universities: contemporary challenges to student engagement in expressive activities 99
Junko Kotani
PART 3 IN THE CLASSROOM: PEDAGOGY AND COMMUNITIES OF INQUIRY
10 The alleged campus crisis in Canada: an overview and pedagogical response 111
Dax D'Orazio
11 Empathy, holocaust memory, and the Palestine-Israel conflict in British universities 125
Adam Sutcliffe
12 Free speech and focused freewriting: academic freedom and building up a classroom community of dialogue through writing practices 138
Mayur Suresh
13 Anti-racism and Gaza in UK medical colleges: developing communication pathways through communities of inquiry 150
Hina J. Shahid, Duaa Jamal Karim, and Hasan Pandor
14 Decolonizing a university business school through communities of inquiry 162
Megha Kashyap and Antony C. Moss
15 Building critical conversations in the classroom: communities of inquiry in film studies 172
Julia Stolyar
16 Enabling 'free speech' through virtual communities of inquiry: when Global North meets Global South 184
Alexander Masardo, Maria Meredith, Ega Asnatasia Maharani, and Intan Puspitasari
17 Embracing the messy realities of social media and artificial intelligence in higher education: considerations for learning communities 196
Yenn Lee
18 Conclusion to issues around academic freedom and freedom of speech in the 2020s: the way forward 210
Alison Scott-Baumann and Hasan Pandor
Index 214
Foreword: free speech and academic freedom in the university xvii
Adam Habib
1 Introduction to issues around academic freedom and freedom of speech in the 2020s in the UK and internationally 1
Alison Scott-Baumann and Hasan Pandor
PART 1 FREE SPEECH LEGISLATION ON CAMPUS IN THE UK
2 'Within the law': the legal framework for free speech on campus in England and Wales 10
Smita Jamdar
3 Counter-extremism policies and free speech in UK universities 24
Layla Aitlhadj and John Holmwood
4 Students' unions: building confidence and reducing risk 38
Jim Dickinson
PART 2 POLITICS AND POSSIBILITIES
5 Academic freedom in Australia 49
Anjalee de Silva, Katharine Gelber, and Adrienne Stone
6 Fighting the end of academic freedom in Florida's university system: a cautionary legal tale 63
Adriana Novoa
7 Free speech and academic freedom in higher education in the Netherlands: pedagogical challenges 77
Daan F. Oostveen
8 Freedom of speech on Palestine at a German university: a case study 91
Vered Berman
9 The dynamics of campus free speech in Japanese universities: contemporary challenges to student engagement in expressive activities 99
Junko Kotani
PART 3 IN THE CLASSROOM: PEDAGOGY AND COMMUNITIES OF INQUIRY
10 The alleged campus crisis in Canada: an overview and pedagogical response 111
Dax D'Orazio
11 Empathy, holocaust memory, and the Palestine-Israel conflict in British universities 125
Adam Sutcliffe
12 Free speech and focused freewriting: academic freedom and building up a classroom community of dialogue through writing practices 138
Mayur Suresh
13 Anti-racism and Gaza in UK medical colleges: developing communication pathways through communities of inquiry 150
Hina J. Shahid, Duaa Jamal Karim, and Hasan Pandor
14 Decolonizing a university business school through communities of inquiry 162
Megha Kashyap and Antony C. Moss
15 Building critical conversations in the classroom: communities of inquiry in film studies 172
Julia Stolyar
16 Enabling 'free speech' through virtual communities of inquiry: when Global North meets Global South 184
Alexander Masardo, Maria Meredith, Ega Asnatasia Maharani, and Intan Puspitasari
17 Embracing the messy realities of social media and artificial intelligence in higher education: considerations for learning communities 196
Yenn Lee
18 Conclusion to issues around academic freedom and freedom of speech in the 2020s: the way forward 210
Alison Scott-Baumann and Hasan Pandor
Index 214