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Untangling concepts

Exploring academic licence and freedom of speech in Australia
by
April 2021, no. 430

Open Minds: Academic freedom and freedom of speech in Australia by Carolyn Evans and Adrienne Stone with Jade Roberts

La Trobe University Press, $29.99 pb, 224 pp

Untangling concepts

Exploring academic licence and freedom of speech in Australia
by
April 2021, no. 430

Across the Anglosphere, academic freedom is in crisis. That, at least, is the conclusion one draws from reading conservative newspapers and listening to right-wing politicians. Boris Johnson’s government, concerned about ‘unacceptable silencing and censoring on campuses’, recently announced plans to appoint a ‘free speech champion’ for British universities. In 2019, Donald Trump signed an executive order to protect free speech on campus, describing it as a ‘historic action to defend American students and American values that have been under siege’. In February 2021, the Australian government amended higher education legislation to redefine academic freedom, amid shrill calls from the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) about the ‘free speech crisis at Australia’s universities’.

Kieran Pender reviews 'Open Minds: Academic freedom and freedom of speech in Australia' by Carolyn Evans and Adrienne Stone with Jade Roberts

Open Minds: Academic freedom and freedom of speech in Australia

by Carolyn Evans and Adrienne Stone with Jade Roberts

La Trobe University Press, $29.99 pb, 224 pp

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