[GOAL] On Academic Freedom | Danny Kingsley - Google Docs

"Hi all,

Can we have a quick chat about Academic Freedom? I am frankly fed up with this being trotted out in multiple discussions in relation to open access. It is akin to the PhD student who recently tearfully told me that the University’s requirement for her to provide a digital version of her thesis in addition to the hardbound one was a ‘breach of her human rights’. I feel the academic freedom argument is moving into similar levels of hysteria.

I wrote a blog recently that addresses this issue: Scare campaigns, we have seen a few<https://unlockingresearch-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/?p=1905> https://unlockingresearch-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/?p=1905 (relevant bits below)

Usually I hear ‘Academic Freedom’ thrown in in relation to being able to choose where to publish. On the SCHOLCOMM and GOAL lists in the discussion about Willinsky’s copyright proposal, academic freedom has been thrown into the mix again. Given, there is potentially some validity in the statement that: “Policies that impact academics that are not developed and supported by academics are not consistent with academic freedom.” But copyright ownership (other than the moral right to be identified as an author of a work), and the place of publication are NOT enshrined in academic freedom...."