Jonathan Hearn, Professor of Political and Historical Sociology, School of Social and Political Science. Edinburgh Academics for Academic Freedom was set up by a group of academic colleagues who were concerned about a growing climate of censoriousness, and a general chill around discussing and debating difficult issues in this university, and the university sector as […]

Arianna Andreangeli, Senior Lecturer in Competition Law, Edinburgh Law School   “Academic freedom and institutional autonomy of higher education institutions are not only crucial for the quality of education and research; they are essential components of democratic societies.” (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Resolution no 2352 of 20 November 2020) Academic freedom is […]

Edinburgh Academics for Academic Freedom (EAFAF) are sorry for the continuing delay to rescheduling our screening and discussion of the film Adult Human Female. University managers have assured us that they are committed to enabling this event to go ahead. However, they have imposed several conditions which are proving very difficult to negotiate. In particular, […]

Matthew Brown, student in Philosophy, University of Edinburgh How academically free are we as researchers, teachers, and students? In the practical and social sciences, any exploration that directly puts a subject at risk or that might indirectly harm people in other ways must demonstrate that this has been considered and sufficient steps have been taken […]

My name is Matthew Brown, I am a student of philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. I have been following the activity of Edinburgh Academics for Academic Freedom (EdAFAF) who I would like to thank for giving me the opportunity to contribute to their blog. I was not in attendance at the aborted screening of […]

Lindsay Paterson, emeritus professor of education policy, School of Social and Political Science. 12 December 2022   Something ideologically peculiar is happening in the partisan arguments around the UK government’s Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill. This draft legislation would impose a statutory duty on English universities to guarantee freedom of speech for their staff […]