 |
 |
Store: An Independent Institute Book
Co-publisher: Cambridge University Press
© 2005 |
| | | |
RESTORING FREE SPEECH AND LIBERTY ON CAMPUS
By
Donald A. Downs
The politically correct deprivation of free speech, due process, and other basic civil liberties in American higher education counteracts the truth-seeking mission of universities. Rather than promoting equal respect and tolerance of diversity, these policies have proved divisive and compromised the exchange of ideas. What must be done to reverse this trend? Drawing on personal experience as well as in-depth research, Downs analyzes the origins and development of the problem at four leading universities (Berkeley, Columbia, Wisconsin and Penn) and the effectiveness of conscientious political resistance by faculty and students in renewing the principles of free speech and civil liberty.
Detailed Summary |
| |
|
Table of Contents
Introduction and Background
- Chapter 1: The return of the proprietary university and the new politics of free speech and civil liberty
- Chapter 2: Background: the rise of anti-free speech and liberty ideologies
Case Studies in the Politics of Civil Liberty on Campus
- Chapter 3: Columbia’s sexual misconduct policy: civil liberty vs. solidarity
- Chapter 4: Berkeley and the rise of the anti-free speech movement
- Chapter 5: Undue process at Penn
- Chapter 6: Renewal: the rise of the free speech movement at Wisconsin
- Chapter 7: Abolition in the Wisconsin faculty senate and its aftermath
Conclusions
- Chapter 8: Some conclusions concerning civil liberty and political strategy.
Appendix
Index
Praise for Restoring Free Speech and Liberty on Campus “Restoring Free Speech and Liberty on Campus, the product of considerable scholarship, is unequivocal in the positions it holds. Most of all, it is thought provoking and challenging. Agreement with all of Down's conclusions is neither important nor necessary, but this book needs to be read, discussed, and debated and, as a profession we need to be mindful of his perspective. It is a book that should find its way on the reading lists of those who in any way are engaged in the political, cultural, and social issues that so often frame campus life.”
—Journal of College Student Development
“Grounded in case studies of Columbia, Berkeley, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Wisconsin, Downs's book is all the more devastating for the measure and scrupulousness with which he makes his case. Downs exposes rampant administration self-righteousness and faculty fecklessness in the face of university disciplinary proceedings that dispense with or trample on the most basic elements of procedural fairness. But his tale is also an inspiring one, chronicling the power of a few brave faculty members and students to stand up to the censors, to mobilize support on campus and off, and to defeat the forces that threaten the university from within. There will be no cure for what ails our universities, Downs convincingly demonstrates, until they become bastions of free speech and liberty.”
—POLICY REVIEW
“At the very core of all our rights and liberties is the First Amendment. One of the places it has been most endangered is the American college and university campus. The story of how Donald Downs restored it so vibrantly against considerable odds is downright inspiring and, I hope, infectious.”
—NAT HENTOFF, Author and Columnist, The Village Voice
“One does not have to agree with all of Downs’s characterizations or conclusions to appreciate that this book is an indispensable resource to anyone seriously interested in understanding the campus code controversy or, more importantly, the culture of the contemporary American university.”
—JAMES WEINSTEIN, Professor of Law, Arizona State University; Author, Hate Speech, Pornography and the Radical Attack on Free Speech Doctrine
“Puts coercive political correctness under the microscope as no previous book has done, and discovers not only why it is virulent but how to make antibodies. Real intellectual diversity—and thus the American university itself—has no better friend, anywhere, than Donald Downs.”
—JONATHAN RAUCH, Columnist, Atlantic Monthly
“An important contribution to the never-ending real-world struggles to maintain free speech on campus. Should be read by anyone interested in the status of higher education, the fate of constitutional citizenship, [and] the politics of civil liberty.”
—NADINE STROSSEN, President, American Civil Liberties Union About the Author Donald A. Downs is Professor of Political Science, Law, and Journalism at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. As President of the Committee for Academic Freedom and Rights at the university, he has been a leader in the free speech and civil liberty movement in academia. He has also consulted with numerous organizations and universities about free speech and academic freedom issues.
|
|
 |
|
