Academic freedom

A recently formed group and an attendant conference hope to bring greater attention to issues being faced in India

But about-turn leaves gaps and lingering fears about challenging political power

Long-standing challenge on research disclosures grows more urgent with rising China tensions and anti-Asian discrimination

Former foreign students recount memorable experiences in world’s most isolated country, including being openly spied on by their hosts

While the dangers can be extreme in autocracies and war zones, nowhere is immune

Some academics depart China amid allegations of overly strict Covid rules and narrowing space for academic freedom

Female scholars twice as likely to feel constrained as male colleagues, poll shows 

At partisan moment, governing regents pursue new processes allowing for firing of tenured faculty

Amid silence from universities and protests from Democrats, Biden prosecutors seek new trial for Anming Hu

University insists historian Garrett Felber was let go for failing to communicate effectively with department chair

State media defend China’s call to remove two speakers from summit

Academics are ‘groping along blindly’ in a fierce debate over whether certain phrases or subjects are still legal

Ex-pollster who leads Policy Institute at King’s sees public support for universities enduring despite culture wars angst

Campaigners at Boğaziçi University say their victory could inspire others – but also fear a harsher crackdown under a new appointee

Sister-in-law of Azerbaijan’s autocratic president sits on board of centre set up to study country after brokering a £10 million donation

It is 2041. Knee-jerk politics is conspicuous by its absence and students are willing to actually hear each other. But is this odd spectacle a premonition or just a dream, wonders Jonathan Zimmerman

We increasingly need to protect not only our freedom of speech as scholars but also our freedom of thought, says Keith Burnett

England’s free speech bill should outlaw gag orders that stifle revelations of bad practice, says an anonymous author 

Editors of Journal of Controversial Ideas hope to puncture ‘cancel culture’, but other scholars warn researchers ‘can’t stop being an accountable moral agent’

Years of restrictions have stymied scholars’ work on topics such as the Algerian war of independence, and a new law could cement this lack of access

Latin America Summit hears that hostile political climate and lack of research funding in Brazil are preventing the return of scholars overseas

Opposition says it will vote against bill at second reading and urges Tories to join them

Academics feel responsibility to speak publicly on issues such as press freedom and ‘fake news’ 

Online ban is ‘unprecedented’ in scale and likely involved cooperation from multiple parties, expert says

Scholars say that the new institute, whose remit describes the genocide as ‘baseless’, will lack credibility

Recent detentions may put a dampener on field research and outreach, even if borders reopen

After FBI admissions in Tennessee case, Arizona-led survey aims to see how badly US was hurt by Trump enforcement

In unprecedented comments ahead of federal elections in September, Anja Karliczek applauds university that shuttered its institute

Weeks of protests end in victory for 1619 Project creator and advocates of academic freedom and racial awareness

Australian report warns that students and academics alike are learning to stay silent

Students and faculty to be asked annually about their personal opinions, with public funding tied to answers

Fields essential to country’s development could become ‘unviable’ as faculty are forced out, observers say

Covid redundancy terms include non-disclosure and non-disparagement obligations, as corporate HR culture captures universities

Action against Bard College threatens novel liberal arts degree and widens Putin crackdown on higher education

Koç University dismissed media scholar Amir Hetsroni for ‘inappropriate behaviour’, but he suspects a link to his private criticism of Turkey’s government

Critics allege that political interference has caused delays to appointments  

Professors and institutions admit worry as at least 20 US states move to block curricula exploring systemic biases

Chinese students bring benefits but universities are too reliant on them and Canberra should ‘take a harder line’, respondents say

Parliamentary resolution seen as culmination of a campaign against gender, race and migration scholarship

Union says education’s secretary’s criticism of students is ‘dangerous’, as Magdalen president defends ‘democratic decision-making’ that led to removal

Michael Higgins warns campuses ‘have suffered attrition of range and depth, loss of interdisciplinary exchange, leading in too many cases to a degradation of the very scholarship and teaching for which they were established’

Ideal of shared governance suffers, though AAUP heartened by some revivals, especially at large public universities

Non-disclosure agreements that silence staff or students should be banned, says Mark Geoghegan

As Isaiah Berlin showed, academics need to reflect on who is sidelined by commitments to ‘positive’ freedom, says Joseph Mintz

Embattled university president in staunchly conservative state sees business-world allies valuing benefits of under-fire course

University retreats under pressure by pausing graduation plans for critic of pro-Trump insurrectionists

As feared, the country’s universities are being used as a weapon to crush dissent against the regime, several academic organisations say

But academics need to navigate political tensions, even in their classrooms

Neither the Equality Act nor campus groups’ good sense will circumvent the duty to give a platform to anyone who wants one, says David Renton

THE event hears that ‘policing’ of social media posts from students studying abroad is stifling classroom debate

Tory peer hopes for role in selecting ‘thoughtful’ appointee to free speech champion role

Investigation, despite little evidence, seen as reflecting growing power of conservative critics of academia

University broadens free speech exclusions on request of gender-diverse community

Intervention by Chapel Hill trustees hits higher education as dangerous new threat of political interference

‘Devastation and horror’ compound years of isolation and neglect, professor says

Suggested new avenue for conservative donor influence opposed by students

Waleed Salem has been unable to leave home country after being jailed during research

V-c admits university made ‘serious mistakes’ after external review finds it breached its free speech duties

Military takes action after plan to reopen campuses is thwarted

Scholars say criticism of fields such as gender studies and race theory is leading to self-censorship