Academic Freedom and Free Speech
Defining Academic Freedom
Academic freedom is integral to The New School. It appears in the first few lines of the school’s mission statement:
“The New School was founded in 1919 to advance academic freedom, tolerance, and social justice. These values have been the foundation for our engagement with the New York City community for the last 100 years.”
Ultimately, academic freedom ensures both teachers and students have the freedom to instruct, study, and pursue knowledge without unreasonable legal or institutional interference. Read more in-depth about the different facets of Academic Freedom here.
Defining Freedom of Speech
Freedom of speech is outlined in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”
Freedom of speech is the right to give voice to opinions without censorship or restraint.
What is Cancel Culture?
Cancel culture, frequently associated with call-out culture, is ceasing to support an individual, group, or idea because of offensive speech or action from said individual or group.
New School Resources for Understanding Academic Freedom and Free Speech
- Link to Faculty Handbook
- Link to Faculty Policies and Procedures
- Lecture series from The New School’s Vera List Center for Art and Politics in partnership with ARTICLE19, the national coalition against censorship: Freedom of Speech: A Curriculum for Studies into Darkness
- For information regarding Free Speech in relation to media, politics, and America’s current social reality, tune in to this recording from the 2016 Hans Maeder Lecture from the NSSR.
- For an introduction to free speech at TNS, click ahead to 21:45 in the above video.
- For a discussion on Free Speech on College Campuses click ahead to 1:00:15 in the above video.
Conversations Around DEI on College Campuses
The classroom is as much a place for the ongoing conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion that are continuing to unfold across all aspects of society. What follows are a number of resources, articles, books, and examples of how to address conversations related to DEI in the classroom.
- “The 1619 Project” is an ongoing initiative from the New York Times Magazine that aims to reframe U.S. American history by centering the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans.
- Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People, by Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald explores the hidden biases we all carry from a lifetime of exposure to cultural attitudes about age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, sexuality, disability status, and nationality.
- “Dropping the N-word in College Classrooms”, from Inside Higher Ed by Ruth A. Starkman addresses the question of whether or not the reading aloud of the N-word is necessary to teach history and more broadly, what to keep in mind when teaching or referencing this history. More on this question can be found in Elizabeth Strordeur Pryor’s Ted Talk, “Why it’s so hard to talk about the N-word”.
- How to Be an Anti-Racist, by Ibram X. Kendi is a book that offers a reorientation on issues of race, justice, and equality in the United States. More on anti-racism as a precursor for progress in diversity, equity, and inclusion can be found in the Dr. Terry Nance’s Ted Talk, “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Won’t Work Without Anti-Racism”.
- Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning, by Cathy Park Hong is a work of non-fiction urgently considering social structures, identity, artistic practice, and what it does and does not mean to be Asian American.
- Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race, by Derald Wing Sue offers a clear argument in support of direct engagement with race and racism.
- Teaching About Race and Racism in the College Classroom: Notes from a White Professor, by Cindy Kernahan is about how to be forthcoming and compassionate in teaching students about racism when the person in power specifically holds a white identity.
- Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do, by Claude M. Steele identifies the many ways that stereotypes play into our lives and offers strategies for mitigating these dynamics.