Academic Freedom and Human Rights Symposium

What is “academic freedom” and why is it important? This symposium will feature several panels, comprised of historians and social scientists who specialize in various regions of the world, discussing occasions when powerful outsiders sought to control universities, as well as the outcomes of these efforts for knowledge and human rights. It will also discuss the creation of academic freedom as a principle in the United States and its role in democratic governance.

The symposium will conclude with a keynote address from Michael S. Roth, president of Wesleyan University.

Please RSVP by Oct. 1.

Conference Program

Coffee and light pastries will be available starting at 9 a.m.

9:30 a.m. Welcome 

9:35 – 9:45 a.m. Opening Remarks by Amanda Murdie, Dean of Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts at Georgia Tech

9:45 – 10:45 a.m. Panel 1 

• “Academic Freedom within the Field of Power,” Kate Pride Brown (Georgia Tech)
• “Academic Freedom: History and Fading Future,” Deron Boyles (GSU)

10:45 – 11 a.m. Break

11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Panel 2

• “Galileo on Trial,” Nick Wilding (GSU)
• “Doublespeak and Aesopian Language in the Soviet Union,” Nikolay Koposov (Georgia Tech)
• “Unmasking Rousseau: Victor Klemperer and Academic Freedom in Nazi Germany,” Victoria Thompson (Georgia Tech)

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch

1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Panel 3

• "Academic Freedom in Mexico: A Few Observations" German Vergara (Georgia Tech)
• “Iron Certain, Bamboo Certain, and the Great Firewall: The Limited Progress in Freedom of Information and Expression in China,” Hanchao Lu (Georgia Tech)

2:30 – 2:40 p.m. Break

2:40 p.m. – 4 p.m. Panel 4

• “Academic Censorship and Control in Russia: My Experience at the Siberian Federal University” Evgeny Tikhonravov (Georgia Tech)
• “From Campuses to Courtrooms: The Slow Death of Academic Freedom in Turkey,” Kemal Budak (Georgia Tech)
• “Authoritarian Nicaragua and Venezuela: Closing Space for Academic Freedom and Human Rights” Jennifer McCoy (GSU)

4 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. Coffee Break

4:15 p.m. Keynote Address: Michael S. Roth, President of Wesleyan University, “Protecting Our Freedoms: It’s Not Just Academic”

5 p.m. Closing Remarks

A light reception of drinks and hors d’oeuvres will follow.