Academic Freedom in a Democratic South Africa : Essays and Interviews on Higher Education and the Humanities

How do we understand academic freedom today? Does it still have relevance in a global reconfiguring of higher education in the interests of the economy, rather than the public good? And locally, is academic freedom no more than an inconvenient ideal, paid lip service to South Africa's Constitution as an individual right, but neglected in institutional practice? This book argues that the core content of academic freedom--the principle of supporting and extending open intellectual enquiry--is essential to realizing the full public value of higher education. John Higgins emphasizes the central role that the humanities, and the particular forms of argument and analysis they embody, bring to this task. Each chapter embodies the particular force of a critical literacy in action, one which brings into play the combined force of historical inquiry, theoretical analysis, and precise attention to the textual dynamics of all statement so as to challenge and confront the received ideas of the day. These provocative analyses are complemented by probing interviews with three key figures from the Critical Humanities: Terry Eagleton, who discusses the deforming effects of managerialism in British universities; Edward W. Said, who argues for increased recognition of the democratizing force of the humanities; and Jakes Gerwel, who presents some of the most recent challenges for the realization of a humanist politics in South Africa. "How do we understand academic freedom today? Does it still have relevance in the face of the managerial and ideological pressures which are reconfiguring higher education institutions? And what about the humanities? In an increasingly market-driven world, what do the humanities have to offer society? These two sets of questions provide the guiding threads of related enquiries that make up this hard-hitting and controversial study. Academic Freedom in a Democratic South Africa argues that the principle of supporting and extending open intellectual enquiry is essential to realising the full public value of higher education, and that in this task, the humanities and the forms of argument and analysis that they embody have a crucial role to play. The book examines the troubled history of academic freedom in South Africa starting with key debates raised by the 1987 O'Brien Affair through to post-apartheid government policy where it figures as an inconvenient ideal, that is paid lip service to but is neglected in practice ; questions received ideas of institutional culture and managerial authority ; and argues for a better understanding of the critical thinking arising from advanced forms of literacy made available by the humanities. Discussion of the place of the humanities in furthering democracy is deepened and extended in a series of interviews with three key figures from the critical humanities : Terry Eagleton talks about the deforming effects of managerial policies in British universities, Edward W. Said argues for the democratising potential of the humanities and Jakes Gerwel discusses the importance of the humanities in both the anti-apartheid struggle, and for contemporary South Africa. The volume as a whole ends with a consideration of the most recent challenges facing academic freedom and the humanities."--Publisher. Argues that the core content of academic freedom--the principle of supporting and extending open intellectual inquiry--is essential to realizing the full public value of higher education, but questions whether academic freedom is more than an inconvenient ideal that is neglected in South African institutional practice