‘Building Academic Freedom’: on extremism and taboos at the university
On Tuesday 25 November, Leiden University is holding the first of four sessions on ‘Building Academic Freedom’. Students and staff are invited to a conversation about today’s hot-button issues.
In this first edition of ‘Building Academic Freedom’, members of our community will discuss the following thought-provoking questions:
- Do you think the university should give a platform to all political messages?
- Do you feel there are taboos within the academic community? If so, which ones?
How the series came about
Initiator Pieter Slaman explains how this series came about, ‘We build academic freedom every day, and yet we only mention it when we encounter its limits. Social and political issues have caused tensions in our academic community for some time now. The question of whether the university should break its ties with Israeli institutions or with fossil fuel companies has divided us.’
Many of us struggle with reconciling the essential freedom of speech with the equally essential diversity in our community. Such different viewpoints have raised significant concerns about our academic freedom, making it crucial that we discuss this together, as the rectors of the Dutch universities maintained in a joint statement earlier this year.
Leiden University is therefore inviting its students and staff to discuss academic freedom in everyday campus life. How do we uphold our motto Paesidium Libertatis, bastion of freedom – even when it takes a concerted effort to do so?
We will discuss our core values, the blurred lines between politics and the academic debate, and how we shape academic freedom in everyday campus life. After the plenary introduction, participants will work in rotating breakout groups. In short 30-minute sessions, they will try to formulate answers to the questions above.
‘Building Academic Freedom’ is part of the ‘Community. Conversation. Connect.’ series.
Registration
Registration is required and is open until 23 November. You will need to produce a LU-Card at the entrance. The language spoken will be English, with the option to express yourself in other languages.