Does Academic Freedom Apply to Teaching and Learning?

This workshop features Dr. James Turk, Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Communications and Design, and Director of the Centre for Free Expression.

The mission of a university is to advance and disseminate knowledge, educate students, and encourage critical thinking and free expression. This mission cannot be achieved in the absence of academic freedom. Academic freedom is the conviction that the freedom of inquiry by faculty is paramount to the mission of the academy and the core principles of academia. Scholars must have the freedom to teach and communicate ideas and facts - including controversial topics that may be inconvenient or uncomfortable to external political groups or authorities. Faculty require the freedom to educate without fearing being targeted for repression, job loss, or imprisonment. Moreover, a growing number of instructors at post-secondary institutions are hired to contingent, contract and part-time jobs, which may lack the security to ensure the protection of academic freedom.