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.

Few issues are as hotly debated or misunderstood as academic freedom. Reichman's book sheds light on and brings clarity to those debates.

About the Author

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.

Reviews
. . . 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)


Awards
Winner of Eli M. Oboler Memorial Award 2020 (United States).



Book Information
ISBN 9781421428581
Author Henry Reichman
Format Hardback
Page Count 376
Imprint Johns Hopkins University Press
Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press
Weight(grams) 476g
Dimensions(mm) 203mm * 127mm * 29mm