‘You can’t say that here …’: intellectual freedom on campus

Intellectual freedom is one of the most contentious topics facing students and academics alike. Susan Ostermann, a professor at the university of Notre Dame, Indiana, who is an advocate of abortion rights, recently withdrew from accepting the offer of a more senior appointment after several bishops intervened.

“It has become clear that there is work to do at Notre Dame to build a community where a variety of voices can flourish.” Should there be limits to what can be said by teachers and students in the lecture theatre? Could teaching – and learning – be hemmed in by constraints on the discussion of controversial topics? Is censorship – or self-censorship – a more serious issue than universities are willing to admit? These questions become more complicated when we ask: what, exactly, does “academic freedom” mean in the context of a Catholic university?

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