This teach-in will explore the meaning and scope of academic freedom at a moment of growing concern about intellectual and political expression on and off campus. While academic freedom is often framed as a protection for faculty teaching and scholarship, it also extends to the protection of the faculty's extramural utterances and actions and to the students-both in their classroom work and in their broader intellectual and political engagement.
The event will address the focal issues affecting faculty engagement with academic freedom and examine how student voices and student movements have historically shaped the intellectual life of universities, including at CUNY, where important academic developments have emerged directly from student demands. In addition, the panelists will offer their thoughts on ways of addressing the current and unprecedented challenges facing our academic community.
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Moderator
Laura Altinsoy is a PhD student in political science at the Graduate Center, CUNY, specializing in International Relations with a minor in Political Theory, and an adjunct lecturer at Baruch College. She holds a First Class Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Politics from the University of Edinburgh and a Master of Letters with distinction in History from the University of Dundee. Her research examines U.S. hegemony in international organizations and counter-hegemonic formations. She has professional experience with the United Nations and speaks English, German, French and Spanish.
Panelists
Louis Charbonneau is UN director at Human Rights Watch and has taught political science courses at CCNY and Hunter College. Before joining HRW in 2016, he was a journalist for more than two decades, mostly at Reuters, where he was UN bureau chief and reported from over 50 countries. He has degrees from the University of Michigan, Columbia University, and a PhD in political science from the CUNY Graduate Center.
Anthony Alessandrini is a professor of English at Kingsborough Community College and of Middle Eastern Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center, where he is also a member of the Committee on Globalization and Social Change. His books include Decolonize Multiculturalism; Frantz Fanon and the Future of Cultural Politics; and a poetry collection, Children Imitating Cormorants. He is the chair of the PSC-CUNY Academic Freedom Committee, serves on the Board of Directors of the Middle East Studies Association,and is a proud member of CUNY Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine.
James Davis is the president of the Professional Staff Congress, CUNY's faculty-staff union, and professor of English at Brooklyn College.
Blanche Wiesen Cook is a distinguished professor emeritus at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY).
Tatiana Cozzarelli is a PhD student in Urban Education the CUNY Graduate Center. She writes about the new McCarthyism at universities and a member of the CUNY 'Fired Four' campaign and the Left Voice.
Food will be provided at this event.
John Jay College educates fierce advocates for justice, a calling that demands robust debate, rigorous inquiry and respectful dissent. Consistent with this commitment, we support academic freedom and convene conversations reflecting multiple perspectives. The views expressed at events held at John Jay belong to the speaker(s) and do not represent the opinion of the college. www.jjay.cuny.edu/pol_memo.pdf
