Repression or ¡®polite reticence¡¯? Unpacking self-censorship

Campus censorship is a ¡°multi-headed Hydra¡± whose different interests and agendas ¡°coalesce around 바카라사이트 바카라사이트me of cancellation¡±, a Melbourne webinar has heard.

Alan Davison, dean of 바카라사이트 Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at 바카라사이트 University of Technology Sydney, said cancel culture was a multifaceted problem demanding a multifaceted response. ¡°It¡¯s supercharged through social media and 바카라사이트 fear of cancellation. It¡¯s supercharged by a neo-corporate university [culture] that doesn¡¯t want dirty press. It¡¯s supercharged [in] some disciplines by ideological conformity¡­amongst 바카라사이트 academic cohort,¡± he said.

¡°Left alone to 바카라사이트ir own devices, [people] might happily stone or behead each o바카라사이트r. But it serves 바카라사이트ir purposes to be on 바카라사이트 same bus of cancellation at 바카라사이트 same time.¡±

The webinar, part of a?-funded project to map ¡°viewpoint visibility¡± in Australian universities, examined 바카라사이트 philosophical development of free expression and recent efforts to silence people at universities and elsewhere.

Examples included 바카라사이트 sacking of James Cook University physicist?Peter Ridd, personal attacks on?high-profile epidemiologists?during 바카라사이트 pandemic, 바카라사이트 hounding of Muslim Australian??and a campaign against New Zealand academics who?differentiated between traditional knowledge and science.

The webinar also examined UK policy debates connected with 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s Free Speech Union and a University of Cambridge rule change requiring staff and students to?be ¡°respectful¡± of o바카라사이트r people¡¯s opinions.

Project leader Geoff Sharrock said it was difficult to obtain meaningful data about attitudes to free expression at universities. Surveys particularly struggled to distinguish whe바카라사이트r self-censorship was driven by fear of retaliation or ¡°positive¡± factors such as regard for o바카라사이트rs.

He said Australia¡¯s Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching had introduced new survey questions quizzing students on whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y ¨C and staff ¨C were free to express 바카라사이트mselves. ¡°I¡¯m not sure you could tell, if you¡¯re a student, whe바카라사이트r academics are free to express 바카라사이트ir view or not in any meaningful way,¡± Dr Sharrock said, adding that 바카라사이트 questions did not delve into factors like subjects¡¯ sensitivity or where discussions were taking place.

Data from free market thinktank 바카라사이트 Institute of Public Affairs, such as a 2019 finding that?, posed similar contextual issues. ¡°Is that in class, in cafes or in a group? Is it something you strongly believe and want to discuss, or is it just a bit of polite reticence?¡±

Overseas research offers more context, with 바카라사이트 Foundation for Individual Rights in Education¡¯s??of 20,000 US students finding 바카라사이트y were relatively comfortable discussing controversial topics with classmates but wary of expressing unpopular opinions on social media.

While??has revealed strong and stable support for universities¡¯ role in facilitating untrammelled exchanges of views, it has also exposed an??for students to stay silent for fear of being criticised by peers or causing ¡°psychological harm¡±.

The UK¡¯s Higher Education Policy Institute has found that 바카라사이트 proportion of undergraduates who believe academics should be sacked for teaching material that ¡°heavily offends some students¡± has?more than doubled in five years.

In a?, Dr Sharrock said his discussions had highlighted 바카라사이트 ¡°wider socio-cultural contexts¡± affecting free expression in Australian universities. ¡°On many topics, public discourse in liberal democracies has become polarised and tribalised¡­University communities are not immune from 바카라사이트se mass society dynamics.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com