Introduction

Abstract

This introduction to a special journal issue, "The Perils of Academic Freedom," notes that it would have been relatively timely to discuss academic freedom in light of the Right's use of 9/11 to curb political dissent in academia. However, academic freedom involves much more than the right to engage in political activism. It means being able to cultivate humanity & world citizenship, to engage in critical inquiry, to produce students who can see beyond the dogmas of the nation-state. Yet academia itself has put limits on what is appropriate; for instance, the right to academic freedom should not be used to further the interests of the individual teacher or institution. Teachers are members of a learned profession; while they should be free from institutional censorship, their special position in the society imposes special obligations. These & other notions of what academic freedom should & should not be are the subjects of the papers in this issue. J. Stanton