The academy vs, the state

Text: Lotta Engelbrektson Photo: Johan Wingborg Illustration: Agnes Garvell

Actually, everyone is in agreement. Academic freedom must be safeguarded. Academic freedom has even been written into the Higher Education Act. Still, the debate continues.

There is no single answer to why the question is so hot right now. Global development – with more autocratic states – is thought to be one explanation. The threat to researchers over the past year is another.

Also a number of cases that have attracted media attention, with university lecturers accused of being ignorant about gender and racism, have also been part of the debate.

Has academic freedom disappeared at Swedish universities?

– No, but it is important that we constantly defend it. There are a lot of people who want to influence academic freedom. Therefore, researchers need to be aware of their role and continue to keep the issue alive, says Fredrika Lagergren Wahlin, Doctor in Political Science and Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Collaboration at the University of Gothenburg.

There is a generally accepted definition of academic freedom. The definition sounds quite simple: A researcher must have the right to choose a research topic and a method, and be free to publish their results. Academic freedom, as it is defined, should also include lecturers, who should be allowed to lecture at their own discretion and in accordance with the available science. Students are also included in the concept because they are free to choose their education.

At the same time, the university is a state agency with political appointments and a common agenda. There are also financial frameworks that must be adhered to. – There is much that can be considered limiting. But since both research and education are financed by tax revenue, it needs to be relevant and have a bearing on the time in which we live, says Fredrika Lagergren Wahlin.

She believes that it can be dangerous to interpret academic freedom as something free and independent that does not have to be connected to the rest of the world. The university is a part of society and is populated by people, she says. – Therefore, we must also relate to the state’s values, and the virtues and attitudes that characterize a civil servant. Whatever we might think of that, she adds.

The very word value has stirred up emotions. The state’s values include basic principles such as democracy, objectivity and the equal dignity of human beings. The loudest protests are about these values being in conflict with academic freedom. Real freedom cannot be achieved if it has to take values into account, some debaters believe. – This is not unproblematic. I know that people in other parts of Europe react when they hear about Swedish universities’ connection to the state. But I think that academic freedom comes first, then the values of the state come next, says Fredrika Lagergren Wahlin.

She does not entirely understand the criticism of gender studies, where it is argued that the subject does not belong in academia. Questioning gender studies as an academic discipline is the opposite of safeguarding academic freedom, she says.

– It is very strange reasoning. Gender studies, like all other areas of study, involves research that has developed gradually. It is not an ideology but the subject is based on theories of power relationships in society.

On the other hand, Fredrika Lagergren Wahlin has nothing against the discussion itself, whether it is about identity politics, gender or postcolonialism. She believes that it is part of the university’s mandate to discuss, argue and experiment. – We need more, not less, research that challenges and questions the order of things from different theoretical perspectives and approaches, she says.

Fredrika Lagergren Wahlin is Deputy Vice-Chancellor for collaboration.

But I think that academic freedom comes first ...

FREDRIKA LAGERGREN WAHLIN