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 […]

We are very sorry to announce that our screening and discussion of Adult Human Female is postponed until after the summer. Shortly after our second attempt to hold this event was sabotaged, and we and our attendees were subjected to sexist and ageist insults by protestors, the Principal issued this statement. We welcomed its robust […]

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 […]

EAFAF is delighted to launch the publicity for our next open event, “Academic Freedom and the Law”, on May 20th. Our speaker, Akua Reindorf KC, and our discussant, Joanna Cherry KC MP, will help us understand the law as it currently stands in relation to academic freedom, and there will be plenty of time for […]

We are extremely disappointed that once again the screening and discussion of Adult Human Female was prevented from taking place.  This was despite repeated warnings to senior management about the hostile environment that was being created on campus by members of staff in the run up to the event.  In particular, the university’s Staff Pride Network […]

We are pleased to announce that our re-scheduled screening and discussion will take place on Wednesday April 26th at 6pm. Bookings can be made on our Ticket Tailor site. Since our last update, University of Edinburgh managers have slightly relaxed the conditions required of us. We can open our bookings to people from outside the […]

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 […]