NationStates Jolt Archive

Professors from Oxford and Kent Universities and a guy from London School of Economics. News by BBC. Looks like this stuff is valid. If it is true, I think it's quite primitive to restrict academic freedom for whatever reason. It sounds so surreal in a 21st century western democracy...


Academics seek right to offend

A group of academics is demanding the right to be controversial in a new campaign for freedom of speech.

Academics for Academic Freedom (AFAF) says that in today's political climate it is "harder than ever" for scholars to defend open debate.

AFAF says they must be allowed to question received wisdom, and managers should not be able to discipline academics for voicing unpopular views.

The group is calling on all university lecturers to sign its online petition.

"Restrictive legislation, and the bureaucratic rules and regulations of government quangos and of universities themselves, have undermined academic freedom," the groups says.


Too many academics have been sedated by an oppressive environment of political correctness and risk aversion
Simon Davies, London School of Economics

"Many academics are fearful of upsetting managers and politicians by expressing controversial opinions.

"Afraid to challenge mainstream thought, many pursue self-censorship."

A Leeds University lecturer, Frank Ellis, took early retirement this year before a disciplinary hearing over his comments that there was evidence to suggest white people had higher IQ levels than black people.

Statement of freedom

The statement of academic freedom which lecturers are being asked to sign says two principles are the foundation of academic freedom:

"That academics, both inside and outside the classroom, have unrestricted liberty to question and test received wisdom and to put forward controversial and unpopular opinions, whether or not these are deemed offensive.

"That academic institutions have no right to curb the exercise of this freedom by members of their staff, or to use it as grounds for disciplinary action or dismissal."

Writing on the AFAF website, Professor Roy Harris from the University of Oxford said: "Getting university authorities to agree to these principles is an essential step towards safeguarding academic freedom for the future."

Professor Mary Evans from the University of Kent said: "Universities need to be able to maintain, and even extend their ability to think the unthinkable.

"They should not accept a role as mere instruments of state agendas."

Simon Davies, co-director of the policy engagement research group at the London School of Economics, added: "I'm deeply worried about the number of academics who flee in terror at the slightest wisp of controversy.

"Rather than engage the world in a spirit of challenge, too many academics have been sedated by an oppressive environment of political correctness and risk aversion."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/6202877.stm

It really is quite true. The original point of universities- as a marketplace of ideas where the only coin that matters is logic- has been terribly polluted and repressed by current Academic politics.

It really is quite true. The original point of universities- as a marketplace of ideas where the only coin that matters is logic- has been terribly polluted and repressed by current Academic politics.

And I'm guessing this PC laws and environment is championed by Labour, which is supposed to be more pro-freedom than conservatives. It's not hard to see the irony there...

People should still have the right to disagree and debate with professors.

Damn that Egyptian sun god. He's always up to mischief.

People should still have the right to disagree and debate with professors.

You can disagree and debate all you want, that wont stop them from failing you if they dont like you though.

It's about damn time someone stepped up and challenged the policy of supression of unpopular views on the college campus.

"Too many academics have been sedated by an oppressive environment of pc and ra"
If nothing else, you deserve an award for longest thread title.

It really is quite true. The original point of universities- as a marketplace of ideas where the only coin that matters is logic- has been terribly polluted and repressed by current Academic politics.

Amazing in 4 degrees I have never even heard current political topics brought up that I ever remember much less the politics you claim.

This is fuking typical of the academy. I'll bet these clowns used to argue cogently for the common sense of speach codes. Of course, now it effects them, they feel they should be exempted.

Idiots. Yesterdays radical is todays reactionary. These head up their ass 'perfessers' would do well to remember that.

Anyway, if they feel that strongly about it, they should quit their jobs and start their own University with managers more to their liking. (Which will never happen because they are most likely parasites with no productive skills).

In the '60's there was the free speech movement, it said much the same thing. The hippies of the time won through. It appears that we have to do this on a regular basis and that the best defense of free speech comes from the (gasp, choke) liberal academic sector.

Damn that Egyptian sun god. He's always up to mischief.

:gundge:

Academics for Academic Freedom (AFAF) says that in today's political climate it is "harder than ever" for scholars to defend open debate.

AFAF says they must be allowed to question received wisdom, and managers should not be able to discipline academics for voicing unpopular views.

The group is calling on all university lecturers to sign its online petition.

AFAF: Online petitions do not matter. However, BBC does matter, so good job getting noticed there.

As for the crisis with academic freedom, at least we are not imprisoning professors and burning their works. Then again, if that happened it is a sign that said professors had something going. The burning of an author's books, imprisonment for an opinion's sake, has always been the tribute that an ignorant age pays to the genius of its time.

In the '60's there was the free speech movement, it said much the same thing. The hippies of the time won through. It appears that we have to do this on a regular basis and that the best defense of free speech comes from the (gasp, choke) liberal academic sector.

Thomas Jefferson said that a little revolution every now and then was a good thing. The way I interpret that is that every generation has to earn their freedom, else the next will suffer. For example:

1780's: American Revolution; Result - American Independence
1810's: War of 1812; Result - Acknowledgment of US' ability to wage war alone
1840's: American-Mexican War; Result - Imperialist expansion, Slavery expansion
1860's: U.S. Civil War; Result - Emancipation, permanent Union
1880's: Reconstruction/Gilded Age; Result - Carpetbagers, Jim Crowe Laws
1900's: Progressive Era; Result - Women Voting
1910's, 1940's: World Wars; Results - Shouldn't need to be said
1960's: Civil Rights Era; Result - End of segregation in the South
1980's: Generation X; Result - Moral decay, prosperity over personal sacrifice
2000's: War on Terror; Result - Unknown, for obvious reasons

That is not to say that every generation that fought for their freedom was perfect (I disagree with some of the results of the Progressives, and I don't care at all for Hippies), but, hopefully, I've presented a somewhat understandable argument.

Erm Political Correctness enforcement is pretty much a given for restricting free speech...

Then again any sort of enforcement regarding what people say is censorship in a general sense. Personally, say what you want, but be prepared for criticism, and other implications. As it was your right too say it, its others right too challenge it.

While this is probably true to an extent, one thing I would like to mention is that a lot of PC is self-censorship, and not necessarily enforced by the government. If they were to, it probably wouldn't be long before someone hauled them in front of the Human Rights Act.

While this is probably true to an extent, one thing I would like to mention is that a lot of PC is self-censorship, and not necessarily enforced by the government. If they were to, it probably wouldn't be long before someone hauled them in front of the Human Rights Act.

Not in the slightest. The term "political correctness" is found with more regularity in cases where individuals have been prosecuted or impeded.

In any case, the whole idea is bilge.

This isn't about free speech, it's about rejecting the consequences of your actions. The professor who claimed that white people are smarter than black people would have known the implications of making such a statement. If she has black colleagues or teaches black students it would make their working environment more than a little uncomfortable and make it harder for her to do her job properly - and that's what she's paid to do. I'm not saying she should be prevented from saying what she wants, but she should have acknowledged the consequences of her actions.

This isn't about free speech, it's about rejecting the consequences of your actions. The professor who claimed that white people are smarter than black people would have known the implications of making such a statement. If she has black colleagues or teaches black students it would make their working environment more than a little uncomfortable and make it harder for her to do her job properly - and that's what she's paid to do. I'm not saying she should be prevented from saying what she wants, but she should have acknowledged the consequences of her actions.

Firstly, the proposition is correct. Secondly, why do people have a right not be offended, if an equal number of people are offended by limitations upon speech?

Not in the slightest. The term "political correctness" is found with more regularity in cases where individuals have been prosecuted or impeded.
BS.

Here we go, from wiki:
"Some may consider extreme political correctness to be related, as a socially-imposed (rather than governmentally imposed) type of restriction, which, if taken to extremes, may qualify as self-censorship."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship

Now, I'd like you to find a case where someone was successfully prosecuted for serving black coffee, saying "Merry Christmas" or any of the other
'politically incorrect' phrases we in Britian like to moan about.

In any case, the phrase is so over used it has lost any kind of meaning it once had. I remember someone saying not banning flag burning was PC. When, of course, banning flag burning is PC itself.

In any case, the whole idea is bilge.
And hardly improves race relations at all.

You can disagree and debate all you want, that wont stop them from failing you if they dont like you though.

Funny(But sad) story:

A friend of mine had every single one of his papers failed, without a doubt due to the teacher's bias to the topics he wrote about. They were very well written papers, and the Dean actually agreed with him(Although he had his hands a bit tied-she had tenure) that the papers didn't deserve the grades he received.

Moral of the story-Pander to whatever your professor wants.

A bit of tangent.

For those who care, the professor was a feminist to the extreme, called the students idiots in class for not wanting to get into a loaded political discussion that had nothing to do with the class material, and was an over all bitch. More or less.

Funny(But sad) story:

A friend of mine had every single one of his papers failed, without a doubt due to the teacher's bias to the topics he wrote about. They were very well written papers, and the Dean actually agreed with him(Although he had his hands a bit tied-she had tenure) that the papers didn't deserve the grades he received.

Moral of the story-Pander to whatever your professor wants.

A bit of tangent.

For those who care, the professor was a feminist to the extreme, called the students idiots in class for not wanting to get into a loaded political discussion that had nothing to do with the class material, and was an over all bitch. More or less.
OMFG! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Professors:_The_101_Most_Dangerous_Academics_in_America);)

OMFG! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Professors:_The_101_Most_Dangerous_Academics_in_America);)

"An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all."
Oscar Wilde