Academic freedom: A comparative analysis of the legal protections in the united states and Turkey

Abstract

Academic freedom is often misunderstood by politicians, the general public and even sometimes by faculty themselves to mean that faculty have carte blanche in all matters of speech &amp,#8211, in the classroom, in the hallway, and in publication. Academic freedom does not protect all faculty speech &amp,#8211, not in the classroom, the hallway, or in publication. Like other professions such as medicine and the law, the academic profession has standards by which its members, professors, must abide.If the member abides by the profession&amp,#8217,s standards, she will be protected by academic freedom.If the member fails to abide by the profession&amp,#8217,s standards, academic freedom will provide no protection.The purpose of academic freedom is not to provide the professor life-time job security, but to protect the acquisition of knowledge. Knowledge is power and can be a threat to those in power. Knowledge expands society&amp,#8217,s frontiers through scientific discovery. Knowledge helps us to understand our culture and the cultures of others, breeding understanding and tolerance. Knowledge fuels economic development. But, most importantly knowledge prepares individuals for participation in the political process. Knowledge and thus, academic freedom, is necessary for a free and democratic society. Since the Eighteenth Century, academic freedom has protected university faculty whose research and whose search for knowledge threatens the authorities by questioning orthodox or sanctioned knowledge. Academic freedom also protects faculty from the &amp,#8220,tyranny of public opinion.&amp,#8221, Those whom have threatened academic freedom and from whom faculty have needed protection have included the government, religious leaders, and owners and trustees of private universities. More recently, threats to academic freedom have come from students and corporations which fund research or are otherwise affiliated with the university. Because the role of the university is to &amp,#8220,attain universal knowledge,&amp,#8221, faculty must be free to search for that knowledge. &amp,#8220,[I]t would be inconsistent with the role of universities to place limits on what their academic staff can teach and research.&amp,#8221, Moreover, because faculty wherever they are located are searching for &amp,#8220,universal knowledge,&amp,#8221, the protections of academic freedom should be universal. The principles of academic freedom should protect faculty regardless of where they reside, teach, or conduct their research. This article explores the contours of academic freedom in the United States and in the Republic of Turkey in order to ascertain whether the protections afforded in each country are coterminous. Section I addresses why academic freedom is necessary. Section II defines the four areas that academic freedom protects. Section III discusses both private law and public law protections of academic freedom in United States. Section IV discusses academic freedom protections under Article 27 of the Constitution of Turkey and under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Section V concludes with a discussion of the current threats to academic freedom and provides some suggestions to minimize those threats.