Free Inquiry at Risk: Universities in Dangerous Times, Part I
18th Social Research Conference October 29-31, 2008
Rapid globalization, international collaborations, massification, corporate partnerships, increasing number of franchises, regime change, and other conditions of duress are reshaping universities around the world. What are the benefits and what are the risks to academic freedom and free inquiry as universities navigate these trends? This conference will look backward at the role of academic freedom and free inquiry in research universities and forward to what the future may have in store. This conference will be part of our commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the University in Exile, which was created by Alvin Johnson, the first president of The New School, as a haven for the scholars he rescued from the horrors of Hitler. The University in Exile became the Graduate Faculty of The New School for Social Research and gave birth to our journal, Social Research. To read Ira Katznelson's presentation about the founding of The New School and the University in Exile, "Liberty and Fear: Reflectionson The New School’s Founding Moments (1919 and 1933)," you can visit The New School for Social Research site.
This conference is made possible with generous support from the Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and Eugene Lang College at The New School.
To order the related issue of Social Research: An International Quarterly
PROGRAM
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
Session I. Founding of The New School and the University in Exile
Liberty and Fear: Reflections on The New School’s Founding Moments (1919 and 1933) Ira Katznelson, Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia University; Former Dean, The New School for Social Research Bob Kerrey, President, The New School
Thursday, October 30th, 2008
Session II. Academic Freedom and the Origins and Role of the Research University
Freedom, Pedagogy, and Inquiry in the University and Outside Akeel Bilgrami, Johnsonian Professor of Philosophy, Director, Heyman Center for the Humanities, Columbia University
How and Why Academic Freedom Became a Canonical Value Robert M. O'Neil, Director, Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, University of Virginia School of Law; Professor of Law Emeritus, University Professor Emeritus
Who Has Academic Freedom, Who Protects It and Why? Joan Wallach Scott, Professor in the School of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Studies
Academic Freedom and Emerging Research Universities in the Present Ahmed Bawa, Distinguished Lecturer in Physics and Astronomy, Hunter College, City University of New York; former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Discussion Between Speakers, then Discussion with Audience Session Moderator: Jonathan Veitch, Associate Professor of Literature and History, Former Dean, Eugene Lang College, The New School for Liberal Arts Session III. Free Inquiry under Conditions of Duress
McCarthyism and Academic Freedom: A Past Threat to the Core Values of the University
Ellen W. Schrecker, Professor of History, Yeshiva University
Academic Freedom under Political Duress: Israel and Palestine Itzhak Galnoor, Herbert Samuel Professor of Political Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Deputy Chair, Israel’s Council on Higher Education; Associate, The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute Khalil Shikaki, Director, Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research; Associate Professor of Political Science, Bir Zeit University
Structural Transformation of the Research University: Finance, Context, and Demography Craig Calhoun, President, Social Science Research Council; University Professor of the Social Sciences, New York University
The Offshore American University: Risk and Uncertainty in The Overseas Market Arjun Appadurai, John Dewey Distinguished Professor in the Social Sciences, Senior Advisor for Global Initiatives, The New School
Discussion Between Speakers, then Discussion with Audience Session Moderator: James E. Miller, Chair, Liberal Studies Program, and Professor of Political Science, The New School for Social Research
Session IV. Keynote Event
Endangered Scholars from Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Belarus, and China in conversation with Aryeh Neier, President, Open Society Institute
Friday, October 31st, 2008
Session V. Institutionalizing Free Inquiry in Universities during Regime Transitions
South Africa
Andre du Toit, Emeritus Professor of Political Studies, University of Cape Town India
Deepak Nayyar, Distinguished University Professor of Economics, The New School for Social Research; Former Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi
Free Inquiry in China’s Universities
Merle Goldman, Professor Emerita of History, Boston University European Post-Communist States: The Early Years of Central European University:
Alfred Stepan, Wallace S. Sayre Professor of Government, Director, Center for the Study of
Democracy, Toleration and Religion, Columbia University; First Rector, Central European University Research Universities in Modern Russia:
Sergei Guriev, Associate Professor of Economics and Rector, New Economic School, Moscow, Russia
Discussion Between Speakers, then Discussion with Audience Session Moderator: Ronald Kassimir, Associate Provost for Curriculum and Research, The New School Session VI. Free Inquiry and Academic Freedom
A Panel Discussion among Academic Leaders
Robert M. Berdahl, President, Association of American Universities; Former Chancellor, University of California, Berkeley
Hanna Holborn Gray, Former President, University of Chicago
Anthony W. Marx, President, Amherst College
Charles M. Vest, Former President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Joseph W. Westphal, Provost, The New School; Former Chancellor, University of Maine
Discussion Between Speakers, then Discussion with Audience Session Moderator: Bob Kerrey, President, The New School
