A collection of texts that provide the foundation for the University of Chicago's longstanding tradition of free expression, principles that are at the center of current debates within higher education and society more broadly.
Free inquiry and expression are hotly contested, both on campus and in social and political life. Since its founding in the late nineteenth century, the University of Chicago has been at the forefront of conversations around free speech and academic freedom in higher education. The University's approach to free expression grew from a sterling reputation as a research university as well as a commitment to American pragmatism and democratic progress, all of which depended on what its first president referred to as the ""complete freedom of speech on all subjects."" In 2015, more than 100 years later, then University provost and president J. D. Isaacs and Robert Zimmer echoed this commitment, releasing a statement by a faculty committee led by law professor Geoffrey R. Stone that has come to be known as the Chicago Principles, now adopted or endorsed by one hundred US colleges and universities. These principles are just a part of the long-standing dialogue at the University of Chicago around freedom of expression—its meaning and limits. The Chicago Canon on Free Inquiry and Expression brings together exemplary documents – some published for the first time here – that explain and situate this ongoing conversation with an introductory essay that brings the tradition to light.
Throughout waves of historical and societal challenges, this first principle of free expression has required rearticulation and new interpretations. The documents gathered here include, among others, William Rainey Harper's ""Freedom of Speech"" (1900), the Kalven Committee's report on the University's role in political and social action (1967), and Geoffrey R. Stone's ""Free Speech on Campus: A Challenge of Our Times"" (2016). Together, the writings of the canon reveal how the Chicago tradition is neither static nor stagnant, but a vibrant experiment; a lively struggle to understand, practice, and advance free inquiry and expression.
At a time of nationwide campus speech debates, engaging with these texts and the questions they raise is essential to sustaining an environment of broad intellectual and ideological diversity. This book offers a blueprint for the future of higher education's vital work and points to the civic value of free expression.
Edited by:
Tony Banout,
Tom Ginsburg
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 216mm,
Width: 140mm,
Spine: 20mm
Weight: 399g
ISBN: 9780226837802
ISBN 10: 0226837807
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 30 December 2024
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Further / Higher Education
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Preface Paul Alivisatos Introduction: A Living Tradition Tony Banout and Tom Ginsburg Writings and Speeches The University and Democracy (1899) William Rainey Harper Freedom of Speech (1900) William Rainey Harper Academic Freedom (1902) John Dewey What Is a University? (1935) Robert M. Hutchins Broyles Commission Testimony (1949) Robert M. Hutchins Are We Afraid of Freedom? (1949) Laird Bell On Academic Freedom (1949) Committee of the Council Inaugural Convocation Address (1968) Edward H. Levi Unrest and the Universities (1968) Edward H. Levi Liberal Arts, Free Expression, and the Demosthenes-Feynman Trap (2017) Robert J. Zimmer Excerpts from Aims of Education Addresses Free Speech on Campus: A Challenge of Our Times (2016) Geoffrey R. Stone Wonder and Education (2018) Gabriel Richardson Lear The Three S’s of Discovery: Self, Social, Scientific (2021) Kimberly Kay Hoang Sapere Aude and Parrhesia—Academic Freedom and Intellectual Courage (2023) Christopher J. Wild Committee Reports On the University’s Role in Political and Social Action (1967) The Kalven Committee On the Criteria of Academic Appointment (1970) On Protest and Dissent (2014) On Freedom of Expression (2015) On University Discipline for Disruptive Conduct (2017) Notes Major Works Cited
Tony Banout is the inaugural executive director of the University of Chicago’s Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression. A lifelong advocate for ideological diversity and inclusion in academia, Banout serves as a board member of the Heterodox Academy. Tom Ginsburg is the Leo Spitz Distinguished Service Professor of International Law at the University of Chicago, where he serves as faculty director for the Forum on Free Inquiry and Expression, as well as the Malyi Center for the Study of Institutional and Legal Integrity. He is the author or editor of thirty books, including How to Save a Constitutional Democracy with Aziz Z. Huq, also published by the University of Chicago Press.
Reviews for The Chicago Canon on Free Inquiry and Expression
"""The Chicago Canon on Free Inquiry and Expression is a thorough and thought-provoking history of free expression at the University of Chicago. While the compendium documents the centrality of free expression from its founding to the present day, it is far more than static and documentary. Rather, this dynamic and evolving treatise provides a theoretical approach to free expression on college campuses today and clarifies the responsibility of the academy to encourage and stimulate the life of the mind and its courageous expression in all its many forms."" -- Roslyn Clark Artis, President of Benedict College ""This inspiring collection of carefully reasoned and eloquently phrased writings is a must-read for all members of all academic communities and for everyone else who is interested in the timeless and timely topics of academic freedom and free speech. The volume is a treasure trove of pertinent materials, each with enlightening introductory annotations. An unwavering commitment to open inquiry infuses the whole compendium, and The Chicago Canon invites reading, discussion, and debate on every campus that is—or should be—pursuing and implementing its own policies and practices to promote intellectual freedom."" -- Nadine Strassen, author of Free Speech: What Everyone Needs to Know®"
