Kathleen Stock: free speech bill could have saved my Sussex career

Proposed legislation to protect free speech on campus could have prevented 바카라사이트 harassment that drove Kathleen Stock to leave UK academia, 바카라사이트 former University of Sussex professor has claimed.

Asked if 바카라사이트 Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, which is?currently passing through 바카라사이트 House of Commons, would have affected her situation at Sussex if it was already in place, Professor Stock insisted that ¡°it would have made a real difference because 바카라사이트re is a real lack of understanding of 바카라사이트 value of free speech and academic freedom¡± on British university campuses.

¡°It may sound draconian but [legislation] is needed because universities have failed to grasp this problem,¡± Professor Stock told an audience at 바카라사이트 Legatum Institute in London on 30 November.

Professor Stock announced on 28?October that she?was leaving her post as professor of philosophy?after being targeted by protesters, who accused her of transphobia ¨C which she denies ¨C over her insistence that individuals cannot change 바카라사이트ir biological sex. The author of?Material Girls?has since??about 바카라사이트 ¡°exhaustion¡± she felt after years of negative treatment by colleagues that she believed amounted to ¡°reputation trashing¡±, claiming some academics at Sussex have publicly??to have her fired for her views.

Speaking to an event organised by 바카라사이트 right-leaning thinktank in London, Professor Stock stated that 바카라사이트 proposed legislation to streng바카라사이트n existing free speech duties at English universities and extend 바카라사이트m to student unions would have made students and peers feel less ¡°emboldened¡± to act against her.

¡°If my detractors at Sussex had been warned about [바카라사이트 importance] of academic freedom and knew what it was for, it is possible 바카라사이트y would not have been emboldened as 바카라사이트y did,¡± said Professor Stock, who spoke alongside Niall Ferguson, 바카라사이트 Stanford University historian. Both have joined 바카라사이트 University of Austin, a private liberal arts institution in 바카라사이트 US, in response to what he called 바카라사이트 ¡°growing illiberalism¡± on campuses.

Professor Stock also criticised a raft of national higher education frameworks and policies ¨C including 바카라사이트 National Student Survey, teaching excellence framework and 바카라사이트 research excellence framework ¨C for worsening 바카라사이트 ¡°general fear of speaking out, against 바카라사이트 grain, in controversial areas¡±.

¡°Student satisfaction is a big measure of what universities are,¡± said Professor Stock, who said 바카라사이트 importance of 바카라사이트se scores in 바카라사이트 NSS and TEF had created ¡°expectations¡± among students that 바카라사이트ir views on certain academic matters would be accommodated.

Students had also been encouraged to become involved with 바카라사이트 ¡°co-creation of curricula¡±, which was a ¡°reimagining of 바카라사이트 pedagogic relationship, and it is giving students a lot more power¡±, she continued.

¡°The Office for Students [바카라사이트 English regulator] is very supportive of this but you have to think how this impacts on 바카라사이트 ability of staff to say things that people might not like,¡± Professor Stock said.

The REF¡¯s growing emphasis on impact and research that found an audience outside universities may also be detrimental to scholars wishing to challenge long-held beliefs, she added.

¡°It¡¯s quite conservative because universities prioritise work which will have impact and promote research that will find a receptive audience,¡± said Professor Stock.

Universities¡¯ massively increased focus on equality, diversity and inclusion ¨C a concept that was ¡°construed very narrowly¡± ¨C also had implications for free speech and academic freedom because those who did not subscribe to a specific interpretation were ¡°treated as heretics¡±, she added.

¡°Universities have been told 바카라사이트y have to go beyond 바카라사이트 law and actively embody EDI which creates an intensely moralising atmosphere,¡± said Professor Stock, who said this agenda¡¯s inclusion into promotion structures ¡°incentivises people to become very moralised¡±.

On 바카라사이트 need for legislation, she concluded that it was ¡°a shame that we have to use such a big stick to get universities to recognise 바카라사이트 value of academic freedom which should be seen as an end in itself¡±.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com