Under keywords such as "threat to (academic) freedom of speech", "cancel culture" or "new sensitivity" towards other positions, there has been increasing discussion in recent years about the state of interaction in academia, if the discourse at universities has changed, if open debates are held less frequently and if academic freedom has ultimately been jeopardised as a result. More broadly, the question is whether and, if so, in what way and to what extent (ideological and moral) conformity exists in university contexts that restricts academic debate with dissenters and the articulation of academic opinions that deviate from the norm of conformity.
This is where the project aims to pick up and contribute to a more comprehensive definition, construction and testing of the various dimensions, aspects, and events of the (possible restriction) of academic freedom. In an extension of the previous perspective, scientists at universities are at the centre of interest.
In order to achieve a representative picture of the (university) academic field, a quantitative empirical online survey was planned and carried out during the summer of 2024. The survey was based on a randomly drawn and researched sample of full-time academic staff (professors and academics with and without a doctorate) working at universities entitled to award doctorates. More than 9,000 people took part in the survey, which was designed to capture various aspects of academic freedom and its possible restriction. For contextualisation, biographical, demographic and individual characteristics of the respondents were collected, which have already proven useful in nationwide surveys and provide a basis for comparability with the results of these studies.
The research group published the first results in a short report in autumn 2024. This can be found here: https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/mycjs.
