Academic Freedom and the Inclusive University - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0774808071 ISBN 13: 9780774808071

Publisher: UBC Press, 2000

Synopsis

What is the purpose and nature of academic freedom? Is it an essential and indispensable value or a bad idea based on dubious principles that by omission are racist and sexist? The essays in Academic Freedom and the Inclusive University relate historical and philosophical perspectives on academic freedom to current social and political interests, making an important contribution to one of the most significant intellectual debates currently engaging the contemporary university.

About this title

About the Author:

Sharon E. Kahn is Associate Vice-President, Equity, and Dennis Pavlich is University Counsel, both at the University of British Columbia.

Review:

Battles over human rights, curriculum issues and hiring and promotion practices reveal to what extent efforts to integrate ideas of academic freedom and the inclusive university have engendered strife and debate on Canadian campuses. For some, the concept of academic freedom has become its own myth – an icon to be revered, an article of faith, an essentialist doctrine with roots firmly planted in tradition. For others, the concept of an inclusive university – a university reflecting the burgeoning diversity of cultures and ideologies in Canadian society – demands realization through the transformation of university structures and practices.

The four parts of Academic Freedom and the Inclusive University explore this conflict. In Clarifying Concepts in Language, Law, and Ideology, contributors examine the terms of reference and clarify the differences between Canadian and American viewpoints. The Changing Culture looks at the conflict between academic freedom and the inclusive university from theoretical, historical, and personal perspectives. The chapters in Academic Freedom in Peril contend that inclusion as a policy within the university has destroyed the consensus necessary for academic life, while the essays in Theoretical and Practical Challenges to the Inclusive University focus on the problems that arise when universities promote a policy of inclusion.

Although no final conclusions are drawn in this thought-provoking book, it provides insight into the relationship between academic freedom and the inclusive university. Lively, impassioned and informed, these essays will appeal to general readers, academics, and students alike.

About this edition

• Publisher: UBC Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0774808071
• ISBN 13: 9780774808071
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192
• Editor: Kahn Sharon E.