Academic Freedom : A Guide to the Literature

The freedom of academics to pursue knowledge and truth in their research, writing, and teaching is a fundamental principle of contemporary higher education in the United States. But this freedom has been hard won and regularly abridged, reinterpreted, and violated. Academic freedom has been central to many issues and controversies in higher education and has thus generated literature in a variety of disciplines. This book provides access to that literature.

Included are entries for nearly 500 books, chapters, articles, reports, web sites, and other sources of information about academic freedom. Each entry includes a descriptive annotation, and the entries are grouped in topical chapters. While most of the works cited were published since the 1940 American Association of University Professors Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure, some older studies have also been included. Though the volume focuses primarily on higher education in the U.S., it also includes a chapter on academic freedom in other countries.

STEPHEN H. ABY is Education Bibliographer and Associate Professor at Bierce Library, the University of Akron. His previous books include The IQ Debate: A Selective Guide to the Literature (Greenwood, 1990).

JAMES C. KUHN IV is Head of Technical Services at the Folger Shakespeare Library. He has chaired the Ohio Library Council's Intellectual Freedom Committee and has an ongoing professional involvement with issues of intellectual and academic freedom.