scholarly journals Invited Essay: Educating for Democracy in Undemocratic Contexts: Avoiding the Zero-Sum Game of Campus Free Speech Versus Inclusion

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  

The debate over free speech and inclusion in higher education is not new, but it has reached new levels of vitriol and confusion as legislators and others beyond the academy argue for unfettered speech. Mandating speech rights on campuses undercuts decades of learning around diversity, inclusion, and equity in higher education and in public life by mainstreaming undemocratic forces in some factions in U.S. society that thrive on creating divisiveness and fear of “the other.” Those with an absolutist perspective take a zero-sum game approach by pitting the important American principles of freedom and individualism against the equally important principles of equity and community. Not only is this an unnecessary choice, but it infringes on academic freedom and the right of academics to decide how best to educate for the health and future of democracy. Academic content, standards, norms, and pedagogy should be based on educational goals and objectives. The solution lies in fostering discussion about democratic principles and practices as well as a sense of shared responsibility among members of a campus community for student learning and success.

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Ashley Floyd Kuntz

Abstract Student protests have developed on campuses throughout the country in response to controversial speakers. Overwhelmingly, these protests have been framed as conflicts over the right to free speech and the importance of free inquiry on college campuses. This essay reframes conflicts like these as moral disagreements over the role of individuals and institutions in producing and disseminating knowledge that supports or undermines justice within a pluralistic, democratic society. Using the specific case of Charles Murray’s visit to Middlebury College in spring 2017 and drawing insight from social moral epistemology, the essay aims to clarify the moral concerns at stake in clashes over controversial speakers and to identify possibilities to advance the moral aims of institutions of higher education in response to such events.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tor Halvorsen ◽  
Skare Orgeret ◽  
Roy Krøvel

In June 2016, the Norwegian Programme for Capacity Development in Higher Education and Research for Development (Norhed) hosted a conference on the theme of 'knowledge for development'in an attempt to shift the focus of the programme towards its academic content. This book follows up on that event. The conference highlighted the usefulness of presenting the value of Norhed's different projects to the world, showing how they improve knowledge and expand access to it through co-operation. A wish for more meta-knowledge was also expressed and this gives rise to the following questions: Is this way of co-operating contributing to the growth of independent post-colonial knowledge production in the South, based on analyses of local data and experiences in ways that are relevant to our shared future? Does the growth of academic independence, as well as greater equality, and the ability to develop theories different to those imposed by the better-off parts of the world, give rise to deeper understandings and better explanations? Does it, at least, spread the ability to translate existing methodologies in ways that add meaning to observations of local context and data, and thus enhance the relevance and influence of the academic profession locally and internationally? This book, in its varied contributions, does not provide definite answers to these questions but it does show that Norhed is a step in the right direction. Norhed is an attempt to fund collaboration within and between higher education institutions. We know that both the uniqueness of this programme, and ideas of how to better utilise the learning and experience emerging from it, call for more elaboration and broader dissemination before we can offer further guidance on how to do things better. This book is a first attempt.


2006 ◽  
pp. 54-75
Author(s):  
Klaus Peter Friedrich

Facing the decisive struggle between Nazism and Soviet communism for dominance in Europe, in 1942/43 Polish communists sojourning in the USSR espoused anti-German concepts of the political right. Their aim was an ethnic Polish ‘national communism’. Meanwhile, the Polish Workers’ Party in the occupied country advocated a maximum intensification of civilian resistance and partisan struggle. In this context, commentaries on the Nazi judeocide were an important element in their endeavors to influence the prevailing mood in the country: The underground communist press often pointed to the fate of the murdered Jews as a warning in order to make it clear to the Polish population where a deficient lack of resistance could lead. However, an agreed, unconditional Polish and Jewish armed resistance did not come about. At the same time, the communist press constantly expanded its demagogic confrontation with Polish “reactionaries” and accused them of shared responsibility for the Nazi murder of the Jews, while the Polish government (in London) was attacked for its failure. This antagonism was intensified in the fierce dispute between the Polish and Soviet governments after the rift which followed revelations about the Katyn massacre. Now the communist propaganda image of the enemy came to the fore in respect to the government and its representatives in occupied Poland. It viewed the government-in-exile as being allied with the “reactionaries,” indifferent to the murder of the Jews, and thus acting ultimately on behalf of Nazi German policy. The communists denounced the real and supposed antisemitism of their adversaries more and more bluntly. In view of their political isolation, they coupled them together, in an undifferentiated manner, extending from the right-wing radical ONR to the social democrats and the other parties represented in the underground parliament loyal to the London based Polish government. Thereby communist propaganda tried to discredit their opponents and to justify the need for a new start in a post-war Poland whose fate should be shaped by the revolutionary left. They were thus paving the way for the ultimate communist takeover


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-20
Author(s):  
Inna Yeung

Choice of profession is a social phenomenon that every person has to face in life. Numerous studies convince us that not only the well-being of a person depends on the chosen work, but also his attitude to himself and life in general, therefore, the right and timely professional choice is very important. Research about factors of career self-determination of students of higher education institutions in Ukraine shows that self-determination is an important factor in the socialization of young person, and the factors that determine students' career choices become an actual problem of nowadays. The present study involved full-time and part-time students of Institute of Philology and Mass Communications of Open International University of Human Development "Ukraine" in order to examine the factors of career self-determination of students of higher education institutions (N=189). Diagnostic factors of career self-determination of students studying in the third and fourth year were carried out using the author's questionnaire. Processing of obtained data was carried out using the Excel 2010 program; factorial and comparative analysis were applied. Results of the study showed that initial stage of career self-determination falls down on the third and fourth studying year at the university, when an image of future career and career orientations begin to form. At the same time, the content of career self-determination in this period is contradictory and uncertain, therefore, the implementation of pedagogical support of this process among students is effective.


Author(s):  
M. S. Mokiy ◽  
E. K. Borzenko

The article on the basis of extrapolation of system laws of management of social and economic development illustrates the system reason of the Cobra effect, that is, a situation where, despite the rather attractive goals that managers formulate, the result of the activities of subordinates is opposite to what was intended. The main problem of management is the development of a system of indicators, in which, working on the indicator, employees would change the state in the right direction. The reason for the Cobra effect is the manifestation of systemic patterns of socio-economic development. The main system regularity is the desire of the system for stability and self-preservation. This state of the system is achieved using the least energy-consuming way. It is shown that any worker, realizing system regularities, aspires to stability and self-preservation. Therefore, the employee is always forced to work for achieving the indicator. The article analyzes the manifestation of these laws at the level of enterprises and state. When managers understand these patterns explicitly or covertly, changes in the economic system are moving in the right direction. It is shown that the existing system of target indicators used as indicators to assess the effectiveness of management does not meet the goals and objectives of socio-economic development. At the meso- and macrolevel, absolute, volumetric indicators, such as gross national product and others, reduce the range of benefits to the population. The article defines the vector of change in the system of indicators for assessing the effectiveness of management at the regional and state levels, based on the fact that the key element is the family. At the same time, the targets should be indicators to assess the availability of benefits for households.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (14) ◽  
pp. 166-181
Author(s):  
Elvis Pinzón Laitón

El escrito demuestra que los(as) jóvenes del sector ru- ral, con relación a la educación superior, requieren de una pronta y justa atención por parte del Estado para ayudarlos(as) a superar las dificultades que afrontan una vez terminan la educación media, de modo que no vean frustrado el desarrollo de su proyecto de vida. Enfatiza en la importancia de la formulación y ejecución de polí- ticas públicas claras y adecuadas a las necesidades de los egresados de aquellos municipios distantes a las universi- dades, caso específico los de Tununguá, Boyacá, Colom- bia. Defiende la educación como el medio más importante para el desarrollo del sector rural en el país; esto implica cobertura, ayuda económica, orientación a las familias y compromiso del (la) joven para hacer parte de procesos formativos a nivel profesional en el campo de conocimien- to de su preferencia, y de esta forma acceder a otros estilos de vida para su familia, en el marco de un país que recono- ce el derecho a la igualdad.The writing shows that the young’s of the rural sector in relation to higher education, require a prompt and fair attention of the state to help to overcome the difficulties they face once, they finish their media education studies, frustrating the development of the life project, of each teenage, which is built in this time lapse. It focuses on the importance of the formulation and execution of clear public politics suitable to the necessity of the graduates of those towns distant of the universities as is the specific case of Tununguá (Boyacá, Colombia). It defends the ed- ucation line the most suitable media for the development of the rural sector in our country. It implies coverage, economic help, orientation to the families and commit- ment of the young to make part of formative processes at professional level in the knowledge field the student selects and on this way to get other life styles for their families inside the framework of a country that promul- gates the right to equality. 


Author(s):  
Timothy Zick

This book examines the relational dynamics between the U.S. Constitution’s Free Speech Clause and other constitutional rights. The free speech guarantee has intersected with a variety of other constitutional rights. Those intersections have significantly influenced the recognition, scope, and meaning of rights ranging from freedom of the press to the Second Amendment right to bear arms. They have also influenced interpretation of the Free Speech Clause itself. Free speech principles and doctrines have facilitated the recognition and effective exercise of constitutional rights, including equal protection, the right to abortion, and the free exercise of religion. They have also provided mediating principles for constructive debates about constitutional rights. At the same time, in its interactions with other constitutional rights, the Free Speech Clause has also been a complicating force. It has dominated rights discourse and subordinated or supplanted free press, assembly, petition, and free exercise rights. Currently, courts and commentators are fashioning the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in the image of the Free Speech Clause. Borrowing the Free Speech Clause for this purpose may turn out to be detrimental for both rights. The book examines the common and distinctive dynamics that have brought free speech and other constitutional rights together. It assesses the products and consequences of these intersections, and draws important lessons from them about constitutional rights and constitutional liberty. Ultimately, the book defends a pluralistic conception of constitutional rights that seeks to leverage the power of the Free Speech Clause but also to tame its propensity to subordinate, supplant, and eclipse other constitutional rights.


Author(s):  
Cassandra L. Yacovazzi

By the 1840s, convent narratives gained more middle-class, respectable readers, moving away from descriptions of sex and sadism and focusing instead on convent schools and the education of young women. Popular works such as Protestant Girl in a French Nunnery described "tricks" used by nuns to convert female pupils and lure them into convents. Such literature warned that as neither wives nor mothers, nuns could not train the right kind of women for America. The focus on convent schools converged with the common or public school movement. At the same time, teaching became an acceptable occupation for women, prompting more women to seek opportunities for higher education. This chapter compares the approach to education among nuns and other female teachers alongside the caricatures of convent schools in anti-Catholic print culture. I seek to answer why convent schools faced such heightened animosity even as teaching became feminized.


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