American Higher Ed Learning Cohort Session 4: Academic Freedom- History and Current Events

American higher education studies politics, but since the 1960s, it has also become a political subject—and a very hot one in today’s times.  With a particular focus on the subject of academic freedom, we will explore the politicization of American higher education.

• Reading: AAUP statements on academic freedom from 1915 and 1940
• Ellen Schrecker, No Ivory Tower: McCarthyism and the Universities 3-23 (attached below)
• Michael Berube and Jennifer Ruth: article found here https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/does-it-matter-whether-we-know-what-academic-freedom-is/ (optional reading include a chapter by Berube and Ruth attached below)
• Keith Whittington, "DeSantis's Terrifying Plot Against Higher Ed" https://www.chronicle.com/article/desantiss-terrifying-plot-against-higher-ed?sra=true&cid=gen_sign_in
• Geoff Shullenberger, "War and the Collapse of Campus Speech Consensus" https://www.chronicle.com/article/war-and-the-collapse-of-the-campus-speech-consensus
• Lisa Levenstein and Jennifer Mittelstadt, "The Real Fight for Academic Freedom" https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-real-fight-for-academic-freedom
   

American Higher Ed: History, Culture, and Challenges Cohort Description: 

Designed for graduate students pursuing tenure track careers, as well as those considering a range of careers in and related to higher education, our session topics range from the rise of the PhD as the central academic credential, to graduate education’s role in the research university, to the role of faculty in university governance. Along the way you’ll connect a range of guests, including university press editors, foundation and public humanities leaders, and faculty and administrators from a range of institutions. 

This workshop series will take a long view of American higher education, framing its problems and prospects in both current and historical terms. How did we get here? Where are we headed, and why? Where should we be headed? The overarching goal is both broad and simple: that you extend and deepen your understanding of the history and culture of the academic workplace and profession you now occupy, and the fields you hope to enter.

Directions: Room 271 is located in the Louis A. Simpson International Building, contiguous to the Julis Romo Rabinowitz Building, located on the southeastern corner of Washington Road and William Street. After entering the building at the Washington Road entrance take the elevator on your right to floor 2. Exit the elevator and go to your right. Continue straight down the hall. Just prior to the first glass door make a right through another glass door and proceed down the corridor. At the end of the corridor make a left, and walk straight ahead to room 271.

File Attachments: MichaelBerube_Jennifer_Ruth_2022_6TheFutureOfAcademicF_ItsNotFreeSpeechRace_ch_6, Schrecker_No_Ivory_Tower_323