Friday, June 26, 2015

Is there academic freedom in China?

A recent U.S.A. legislative committee hearing included representatives from U.S.A. universities who have established programs in China (NYU, Fort Hayes State University, and the Kissinger Institute were quoted). The question being raised was whether or not the faculty teaching in these programs were able to exercise the same freedoms in selection of course content that they would in the U.S.A. The representatives reassured the legislators that faculty prerogatives in teaching had not been altered in order to accommodate Chinese government interests. Instances of covering political dissent in China were noted, with the caveat that sometimes faculty members may not cover topics like Tiananmen Square because of the sensitivity of the topic and the faculty's comfort with the subject.

1 comment:

  1. This University World News article offers more perspective on questions of academic freedom - http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20150630114724135

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.