University freedom in focus at symposium at Mid Sweden University
How free is academic research today? On 16–17 April, researchers from all over the country will gather at Mid Sweden University to discuss the university's role in a time characterized by political pressure, activism and demands for societal benefit.
The idea of the university as a place for free and critical knowledge production has been challenged from several directions in recent decades. Economic governance models, political directives and media logics affect the conditions for research, while researchers are increasingly expected to take a stand on social issues. These tensions are at the heart of the symposium The University and Freedom: Autonomy, Instrumentalism, Activism, which will be held at Campus Sundsvall on 16–17 April.
Behind the event is the Network for Critical Theory.
"We are doing this because this is an issue that interests us in the network, but also because academic freedom is becoming increasingly crowded. Therefore, it should be discussed," says Sven Anders Johansson, professor of comparative literature at HSV, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Over two days, researchers from Uppsala University, Umeå University, the University of Gothenburg and Mid Sweden University, among others, will participate. The programme addresses issues of academic freedom, politicisation and depoliticisation of the role of researchers, the university's relationship to activism, and the role of research in political and media discourses. Among the lectures are themes such as gender studies, the ideologization of science, the concept of excellence and academia's approach to war and genocide.
The symposium will take place in room O 102 on Campus Sundsvall and can also be followed digitally via Zoom. The aim is to contribute to an in-depth discussion on how free research and critical thinking can be safeguarded in a time of increasing external demands on the University.