Academic Freedom Without Democracy?

Is it possible to have academic freedom without a democratic university? Renewed challenges to academic freedom from authoritarian regimes and populist movements have prompted many institutions, including our own, to refocus their efforts on understanding and defending academic freedom. At the same time, universities have grown so large – and rich – that they need to be managed efficiently: can we still defend academic freedom as a non-negotiable principle in the universities of the 21stcentury, with growing expectations on the university as a site of translation and innovation and where faculty are increasingly fund-raising employees, mostly on temporary contracts or tenured in name only? Were we too quick to give up on democratic governance for the sake of expanding higher education and societal impact? Or are democratic principles misplaced in institutions that should be solely based on evidence and knowledge? Join our discussion on academic freedom in the post-democratic university.

Panelists:
Kirsten Busch Nielsen (Dean, KU HUM)
Christoph Ellersgaard (CBS)
Wiebke Marie Junk (KU Political Science)
Hin-Yan Liu (KU Law)

Lea Skovgaard & Ezio Di Nucci (chair)