The future of academic freedom / edited by Louis Menand

Includes index.

pt. 1. What does academic freedom protect?: The limits of academic freedom / Louis Menand. Does academic freedom have philosophical presuppositions? / Richard Rorty. Justifying the rights of academic freedom in the era of "power/knowledge" / Thomas L. Haskell -- part 2. The problem of hate speech: Academic freedom and law, liberalism, speech codes, and related problems / Cass R. Sunstein. Critical race theory and freedom of speech / Henry Louis Gates Jr. -- part 3. The ethics of inquiry: Academic freedom as an ethical practice / Joan W. Scott. We need a new interpretation of academic freedom / Ronald Dworkin. Science and its critics / Evelyn Fox Keller. Identity, authority, and freedom, the potentate and the traveler / Edward W. Said.

These nine essays address controversial issues of academic freedom and values at the university level. The book, which was derived from two years of debate and lectures presented to national meetings of the American Association of University Professors, is organized in three sections which address such issues as: the purpose of academic freedom, the problem of hate speech, and the ethics of inquiry. The nine essays are: (1) "The Limits of Academic Freedom" (Louis Menand); (2) "Does Academic Freedom Have Philosophical Presuppositions?" (Richard Rorty); (3) "Justifying the Rights of Academic Freedom in the Era of 'Power/Knowledge'" (Thomas L. Haskell); (4) "Academic Freedom and Law: Liberalism, Speech Codes, and Related Problems" (Cass R. Sunstein); (5) "Critical Race Theory and Freedom of Speech" (Harry Louis Gates Jr.); (6) "Academic Freedom as an Ethical Practice" (Joan W. Scott); (7) "We Need a New Interpretation of Academic Freedom" (Ronald Dworkin); (8) "Science and Its Critics" (Evelyn Fox Keller); and (9) "Identity, Authority, and Freedom: The Potentate and the Traveler" (Edward W. Said). (Most essays contain extensive reference notes.)