Article
Article name Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure: Historical Background and the Principles of Academic Freedom
Authors Golovko N.V.Doctor of Philosophy, Associate Professor golovko@philosophy.nsc.ru
Bibliographic description Golovko N. V. Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure: Historical Background and the Principles of Academic Freedom // Scholarly Notes of Transbaikal State University. Social Sciences Series. 2017. Vol. 12, No. 3. PP. 60–70. DOI: 10.21209/2500-171X-2017-12-3-60-70.
Section
DOI 10.21209/2500-171X-2017-12-3-60-70
UDK 316.74:001
Article type
Annotation The paper aims to analyze the historical background that precedes the shaping of the contemporary understanding of academic freedom in the United States. Much attention is paid, on the one hand, to the transformation of the foundations and, on the other hand, to the emerging new elements of academic freedom that follow the transition and adaptation of the concept of academic freedom in the US higher education system in the late 19th – early 20th centuries. The main object of the study is the Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure that was written in 1915 by the American Association of University Professors in order to emphasize not only the theoretical notions about the essence of academic freedom but also serve as a practical tool and an instrument of common law for resolving legal disputes in court. As a result of the transition to the American “cultural soil”, the concept of academic freedom, that was originally developed under the classical German university, underwent some transformations and, in particular, was expanded via a new dimension of the freedom of extramural expression that referred to the speech made by faculty on the subject that was unrelated to their scholarly expertise. The most transformed issue is the autonomy of the university as the main foundation of academic freedom. The Declaration establishes the idea that the main threat to academic freedom lies not “outside” but “inside” the university. Instead of discussing the university’s autonomy towards external bodies (the state, etc.), the main idea of American academic freedom is to present the university as some kind of “neutral” institution (It is less “closed” and less “independent” then the autonomous one; it does not violate the scholarly tradition when the university policy is determined by a financial committee; the concept of academic freedom can be supplemented by the concept of civil rights and freedoms, etc.), as it helps a lot to protect academic freedom in court.
Key words academic freedom, Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure, autonomous university, neutral university, W. Metzger, R. Post
Article information
References 1. Ablazhei A. M., Golovko N. V. Akademicheskaya nauka v sovremennom obshchestve: kadrovoe vosproizvodstvo, adaptatsionnye protsessy i neoliberal’nye tsennosti. Novosibirsk: NGU, 2012. 286 s. 2. Golovko N. V., Zinevich O. V., Ruzankina E. A. «Tret’ya missiya» universiteta i proekt obshchestvennogo ponimaniya nauki: doklad Bodmera // Filosofiya obrazovaniya. 2014. № 6. S. 77–93. 3. Golovko N. V. Nauka v globaliziruyushchemsya mire: professional’naya deyatel’nost’ ili obshchestvennoe blago? // Vestnik Novosibirskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Ser. Filosofiya. 2011. T. 9, vyp. 4. S. 22–29. 4. 1915 Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure / AAUP Policy Documents and Reports. Washington: AAUP, 2006. P. 291–301. 5. Atkinson R. Academic Freedom and the Research University //Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 2004. Vol.148. P. 195–204. 6. Ferguson M. Creating Common Ground: Common Reading and the first Year of College // Peer Review. 2006. Vol. 8. P. 8–10. 7. Finkin M., Post R. For the Common Goods: Principles of American Academic Freedom. New Haven: CT: Yale University Press, 2009. 272 p. 8. Flexner A. Universities: American, English, German. Texarkana: Sutton Press, 2007. 369 p. 9. Metzger W. Profession and Constitution: Two Definitions of Academic Freedom in America // Texas Law Review. 1988. Vol. 66. P. 1265–1322. 10. Post R. Academic Freedom and the “Intifada Curriculum” // Academe. 2003. Vol. 89. P. 16–20. 11. Post R. Discipline and Freedom in the Academy // Arkansas Law Review. 2012. Vol. 65. P. 203–215. 12. Pritchard R. Academic Freedom and Autonomy in the United Kingdom and Germany // Minerva. 1998. Vol. 36. P. 101–124. 70 13. Rabban D. Academic Freedom // Encyclopedia of the American Constitution / L. Levy, K. Karst [eds.]. New York: Macmillan, 2000. P. 21–23. 14. Rorty R. Does Academic Freedom Have Philosophical Presuppositions? Academic Freedom and the Future of the University // Academe. 1994. Vol. 80. P. 52–63.
Full articleDeclaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure: Historical Background and the Principles of Academic Freedom