Academic Freedom – Multifaceted Contestations

Date/Time: 26 August 2022, 13:30-14:15
Venue: Kulturhuset and Zoom

Even at the best of times academic freedom is contested. And at the present time, the currents threatening to undermine academic freedom are many and diverse and strong, from politically motivated stifling of dissenting voices, and populist disregard for scientific knowledge, to demands for immediate usefulness of research, commercialization of research funding, de-platforming, and self-censorship. This roundtable also discusses the tension between academic freedom and demands for changes in knowledge regimes: Do calls for decolonization of knowledge, or particular strategies, such as de-platforming, pose a threat to academic freedom? Or is the dismissal of accountability to change a misuse of academic freedom?

Participants: Conrado Hübner Mendes (University of São Paulo), Bruce Wilson (University of Central Florida), Fernando Romani Sales (University of São Paulo), Cecilia Barreto (University of São Paulo) 
Moderator: Gökhan Sen (UiB Law School/LawTransform)