Academic Freedom and the Challenge of Diversity: Upholding Two Core Values Essential to the Pursuit of the Common Good

Autor/in	Reichman, Henry
Titel	Academic Freedom and the Challenge of Diversity: Upholding Two Core Values Essential to the Pursuit of the Common Good
Quelle	In: Liberal Education, 106 (2020) 3 PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0024-1822
Schlagwörter	Academic Freedom; Student Diversity; Higher Education; Freedom of Speech; Student Attitudes; Students; Futures (of Society); Racial Bias; Political Attitudes; Conflict; Activism; Universities; Persuasive Discourse; College Role + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Akademische Freiheit; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Redefreiheit; Schülerverhalten; Student; Schüler; Schülerin; Studentin; Future; Society; Zukunft; Racial discrimination; Rassismus; Political attitude; Politische Einstellung; Konflikt; Aktivismus; Politischer Protest; University; Universität; Persuasion; Persuasive Kommunikation
Abstract	Academic freedom is undoubtedly a core value of higher education, but should it sometimes be compromised in order to accommodate efforts to tackle the many considerable challenges of the twenty-first century, from fighting climate change and global pandemics to reckoning with the stubborn legacies of institutional racism? More specifically, can American colleges and universities sustain their commitment to serving a more diverse student body, recruited from all classes and ethnic groups and increasingly from around the world, and still rigorously uphold academic freedom? This article concludes that it is easy to defend academic freedom and free speech when everyone is saying pretty much the same things. But diverse communities give voice to diverse experiences, diverse assumptions, and diverse needs. And with diversity comes disagreement. In the wake of sometimes disruptive protest movements against institutional racism and in the context of the country's political polarization, universities receive complaints that they have become too contentious and hence, they are told, unpleasant places. But the very nature of higher education demands contentiousness. Argument and debate, sometimes polarizing, are at the core of what universities do. Both academic freedom and diversity exist to protect and encourage that sort of contention, and together work to render it constructive. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Association of American Colleges and Universities. 1818 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009. Tel: 800-297-3775; Tel: 202-387-3760; Fax: 202-265-9532; e-mail: pub_desk@aacu.org; Web site: http://www.aacu.org/publications/index.cfm
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01