Social Science Space

The latest update of the global Academic Freedom Index finds improvements in only five countries

Janet Salmons, the research community director of our sister site, Sage Methodspace, coordinated a series of research roundtables to discuss the obstacles facing academic freedom and how to navigate them.

A study published this month, “How Academic Freedom Is Monitored,” aims to assist STOA in the creation of its monitoring platform. The study, authored by Gergely Kováts and Zoltán Rónay of the European Parliamentary Research Service, reviews the existing approaches used to monitor academic freedom and presents new policy options.

The American Sociological Association recently released a statement “urg[ing] public officials, educators, and lawmakers to avoid suppressing knowledge, violating academic and free speech, and prohibiting scholars and teachers from discussing and teaching about the roles of race and racism in society.

Nasser Fakouhi is professor of Anthropology at the University of Tehran. In a 2016 interview with Social Science Space, he reflected on the origins and development of social science in Iran and how political repression has impacted academic freedom.

The webinar “What’s the role of the Higher Ed community in supporting intellectual freedom?” — held as part of Banned Books Week — brought together academics to examine these issues.

Academic freedom is simply the commonplace and understandable request of workers asking for the conditions they need to competently and effectively carry out their duties as expected, required and urgently needed by society.

There’s a strong correlation between academic freedom and other elements of democracy. But cause and effect are not so clear. The African experience makes the relationship clearer because simultaneously, and in a relatively short time, the whole continent moved from one-party to multiparty systems.

Arik Burakovsky, an expert on relations between the U.S. and Russia, shines light on the future of cooperation between Russia and the West in the realm of higher education.

More than 90 organizations based in higher education, ranging from the American Council on Education and American Association of University Professors to the Yes We Must Coalition and EDUCAUSE, have signed a statement supporting “academic inquiry and debate” on American campuses.

The Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award acknowledges individuals or groups who have furthered the cause of intellectual freedom, particularly as it impacts libraries and information centers and the dissemination of ideas.

Associate professor Siouxsie Wiles and professor Shaun Hendy have become well known for their work explaining the science behind COVID-19 and guiding the public and government response. Is their home institution doing enough to protect them from bad actors?