Free to Be Critical

Abstract

While the rhetoric of academic freedom continues to be upheld in higher education, discerning particular principles that lie behind the words can often be difficult. It can sometimes seem as if a lightly held but frequent recantation of the mantra of academic freedom is no more than a necessary rite for legitimate entry into the scholarly community. In practice, academic freedom is often misunderstood, rejected as elitist or redefined beyond all recognition, until the point at which individual scholars seek a defence of their own position.