Handbook on Academic Freedom

Edited by Richard Watermeyer, School of Education, University of Bristol, Rille Raaper, School of Education, University of Durham and Mark Olssen, Department of Politics, University of Surrey, UK

Identifying academic freedom as a major casualty of rapid and extensive reforms to the governance and practices of academic institutions worldwide, this timely Handbook considers the meaning of academic freedom, the threats it faces, the consequences of its loss, and its relation to rights of critical expression, public accountability and the democratic health of open societies.

‘The Handbook on Academic Freedom paints an extremely disturbing picture of how, globally, academics’ ability to act as critical public intellectuals has been radically undermined by universities’ shift from a collegial to a managerial mode of governance. However, this is not simply a critique of the myriad ways in which academics’ “performance” is now constantly audited and monitored in a way that limits their freedom to perform their proper function, but also a much-needed call to arms.’
– Julian Petley, Brunel University London, UK

‘For three decades academic faculty have struggled within a neo liberal performance economy to maintain control over their work and ground it socially amid corporate universities focused on their own status as an end in itself. Now the spread of authoritarian states, the turn to more conflictual geopolitics and the new securitisation of science and technology pose more treacherous challenges. Much depends on whether academic freedom in its different variations across the world can ride out the storm. The book is an indispensable guide to this fundamental and vital issue.’
– Simon Marginson, University of Oxford, UK