Higher Education for Democracy : The Role of the University in Civil Society

Bronze Winner, 2021 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award in the Education Category Democracy and higher education are inextricably linked: universities not only have the ability to be key arbiters of how democracy is advanced, but they also need to reflect democratic values in their practices, objectives, and goals. Framed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ongoing crisis of structural racism, Higher Education for Democracy explores academe's role in advancing democracy by using a cross-national comparison of Los Angeles, New Delhi, and Hong Kong to develop strategies that universities can employ to strengthen democracy and resist fascism. William G. Tierney argues that if academe is to be a progenitor in the advancement of democracy, then we need to consider five areas of change that have been significant across national contexts amid both globalization and neoliberalism: inequality, privatization, the public good, identity, and academic freedom. Taking a comparative approach and drawing on scholarly literature, archival research, and interviews, Higher Education for Democracy aims to understand these changes and their implications and to position higher education in defense of democracy in a globalized economy framed by fascism. Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 Preface 10 1 Globalization, Neoliberalism, and Their Discontents 12 Considering Globalization and Neoliberalism 14 Globalization, Neoliberalism, and Education 16 The Rise of Populism and the Attack on Democracy 18 Inequality 19 Privatization 21 Identity 22 Academic Freedom 24 The Public Good 26 The Logic of the Locations 28 Los Angeles 29 New Delhi 29 Hong Kong 30 Organizing the Text 32 2 The Democratic Imperative of Higher Education 36 The University in Crisis: Hegemony, Legitimacy, and Autonomy 36 Hegemony 37 Legitimacy 39 Autonomy 41 Understanding the Strategic Framework of Globalization and Neoliberalism 42 The “Mercantilization” of the Academy 46 Rethinking Democracy 48 Higher Education’s Conflicted Role in Advancing Democracy 55 Understanding the Environment for Democracy in Three Cities: The Value of Keeping One’s Head Low in Hong Kong 63 The Enduring Struggle for Identity in New Delhi 70 Higher Education in the “City of Dreams”—Los Angeles 76 Whither the Democratic Imperative? 81 3 Identity Matters 82 Communities of Difference 82 Building an Ethic of Responsibility in the Twenty-First-Century University 90 How We Got Here: Reconsidering Critical Theory and Postmodernism 101 Developing a Community of Difference 104 4 Understanding Academic Freedom and Free Speech on Campus 108 What Counts as Knowledge 108 Academic Freedom in Context 112 Hong Kong and the Threat to Academic Freedom 117 New Delhi: Kashmir, Texts, and Movies and the Undermining of Academic Freedom 124 Los Angeles: Make America Great Again (or Not) 129 What Academic Freedom Is Not 133 Autonomy Is Not Academic Freedom 133 Academic Freedom Does Not Afford the Academic to Speak on Any Topic in the Classroom 134 Academic Freedom Does Not Short-Circuit Peer Review and Full Disclosure 135 Academic Freedom Is Not (Necessarily) Free Speech 136 The Interplay of Academic Freedom and Free Speech on Campus 137 External Speakers to the Campus 137 Internal Speakers from the Campus 140 Trigger Warnings and Microaggressions 142 The Holocaust and Pizza Parlors 147 Settled Science, but Still Contentious 148 Not Settled Social Science and Contentious 148 Not Settled Science or Social Science and Contentious 149 Neither Science or Social Science, Nor Verifiable 151 Academic Responsibility: Creating Safe Spaces for Unsafe Dialogue 152 5 Understanding What Modern Universities Do: Goods and Services 158 Traditional Notions of the Public Good 161 Public Goods 161 Higher Education as a Public Good 163 Globalization and Neoliberalism’s Impact on the Public Good 169 Explaining (and Ranking) What the Modern University Does (and Why) 177 Rethinking Research 182 Rethinking Teaching 185 Rethinking Service 190 6 Academic Competencies for the Twenty-First Century 194 The World of Work 196 The Work of the Citizen 203 Recognize the Intellectual Role of Limiting Human Suffering 207 Move Toward Access and Away From Merit 207 Emphasize Translational Learning 208 Acknowledge the Structural Constraints of Race, Class, Gender, and Caste 209 Foster an Ecology of Knowledge 209 Acknowledge Moral Responsibility 210 Affirm the University’s Central Role in Advancing Democracy 210 The Work of the Academic 211 Clarify Authoritative Knowledge 222 Embrace Knowledge Diffusion 223 Interrogate Racial and Gender Identities 223 Reaffirm the Import of Global Knowledge 224 Establish Critical Reflexivity 225 Accept the University as a Locus of Informed Debate That Stimulates Action 225 7 Academic Responsibility: Toward a Cultural Politics of Integrity 228 Globalization and Neoliberalism Revisited 234 Assumptions Deriving from Globalization 235 Globalization as Destiny 235 We Are Observers of Our Lives 236 Universities Are Enablers 236 Neoliberalism Is the Only Viable Interpretive Framework 237 Temporal Acceleration 240 Constrained Notions of the Public Good and Identity 242 The Aging of Academic Ideas 243 Disenabling the Academic Ability to Speak Truth to Power 246 A Framework for Action 250 For the Student 250 Recognize that Jobs and Work in the Post-COVID-19 New Economy Matter 250 One Size Does Not Fit All: Honor Difference 253 Training and Engagement Matter 254 Know What You are Getting Into 255 For the Academic 257 Understand the Four Cultures of the Faculty 257 Teach to the Student 258 Acknowledge the Corrupting Influence of Nonengagement 260 Recognize the Responsibility of the Public Intellectual 264 The Democratic Imperative for Colleges and Universities 265 Define Civil Society 266 Work on Ensuring Free and Fair Elections 267 Enable Voter Participation and Dismantle Voter Suppression of Students 268 Make Equity a Central Value and Goal 269 Work Across the Globe for Democratic Engagement 270 Encourage Civil Resistance—and Prepare for the Consequences 270 Act as We Want Citizens to Act: Model Behaviors and Provide Training 272 Build Trust 273 Play the Long Game 275 Notes 278 References 280 Index 302 Democracy and higher education are inextricably linked: universities not only have the ability to be key arbiters of how democracy is advanced, but they also need to reflect democratic values in their practices, objectives, and goals. Framed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ongoing crisis of structural racism, Higher Education for Democracy explores academe's role in advancing democracy by using a cross-national comparison of Los Angeles, New Delhi, and Hong Kong to develop strategies that universities can employ to strengthen democracy and resist fascism. William G. Tierney argues that if academe is to be a progenitor in the advancement of democracy, then we need to consider five areas of change that have been significant across national contexts amid both globalization and neoliberalism: inequality, privatization, the public good, identity, and academic freedom. Taking a comparative approach and drawing on scholarly literature, archival research, and interviews, Higher Education for Democracy aims to understand these changes and their implications and to position higher education in defense of democracy in a globalized economy framed by fascism. -- From back cover "Uses a cross-national comparison of three metropolitan areas - Los Angeles, New Delhi and Hong Kong - to develop strategies universities should employ to strengthen democracy and resist fascism"-- Provided by publisher