Academic Freedom Part 2

March 17, 2023

Our Know Your Rights segments highlight different aspects that impact your employment at Carleton University, including highlights from the Collective Agreement in small, easy to understand bits.

In our last segment, we went over some of the Collective Agreement’s language surrounding academic freedom. To recap, Article 4 of the Collective Agreement states: “The common good of society depends upon the search for truth and its free exposition. Universities with academic freedom are essential to these purposes both in teaching and scholarship/research.” The article further states, “Academic freedom carries with it the duty to use that freedom in a manner consistent with the scholarly obligation to base research and teaching on an honest search for truth.”

Accordingly, Article 4 affords the following to CUASA members:

1. freedom in carrying out research and in publishing the results thereof,
2. freedom in carrying out teaching and in discussing their subject and,
3. freedom from institutional censorship.

We recognize that some faculty are engaged in highly politicized work, whether that is critiquing governments and political entities, analyzing and confronting systems of power, and/or standing up against oppression. When members aren’t aware of their rights to academic freedom, this can result in a “chilly climate” in which faculty are afraid to speak out or even include certain scholars on syllabi for fear of censorship or discrimination. They may be afraid of losing their employment, being disciplined, or being passed up for tenure and promotion based on their academic research. 

That said, there are some limits to academic freedom. Pursuing your research free from institutional censorship does not equate to being free from challenge and contesting opinions. In the course of your work, you may encounter those with differing opinions who challenge your ideas. You yourself may disagree with the scholarship of another. In these instances, we support a climate of healthy, scholarly debate. It should also be noted that hate speech is not protected by academic freedom. What is considered hate speech can depend on what was said and the context it was said in. Each potential violation of academic freedom and/or hate speech must be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

CUASA’s role is to protect members from censorship, while also promoting a fair and respectful campus climate that works to eliminate discrimination and oppression. For any concerns about infringements to your academic freedom, we encourage you to reach out to [email protected].