Universities, especially British universities, have a long and distinguished history of nurturing radical thinkers, innovators and iconoclasts in all areas of study and enquiry.
“No longer, it seems,” writes Neil Record for CapX. “At our oldest and most distinguished universities, Oxford and Cambridge, and indeed across the spectrum of UK universities, the spirit of free enquiry appears to have died, or perhaps more accurately, been suppressed.”
“Let me briefly cite some varied examples,” Neil continues.
In April this year, Emmanuel College, Cambridge terminated research associate Nathan Cofnas’ affiliation with the College. The letter states: ‘The [investigating] Committee first considered the meaning of [Cofnas’] blog and concluded that it amounted to, or could reasonably be construed as amounting to, a rejection of Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI and EDI) policies’. It concluded that the blog ‘represented a challenge to the College’s core values and mission’.
In October 2023, the University of Cambridge‘s operatic society cancelled upcoming performances of Handel’s Saul over the supposed ‘striking parallels’ it had with the ongoing war in Gaza. The director, Max Mason said, ‘Given the parallels to this conflict, the production team made the difficult decision to cancel Saul. We came to the unanimous conclusion that our production was not in the place to fully confront the issues that have striking synchronicity with the ongoing Middle East conflict.’
In February 2020, Selina Todd, Professor of Modern History at Oxford University, had her invitation to appear at the Oxford International Women’s Festival withdrawn under pressure from trans activists. Todd is involved with Woman’s Place UK, an organisation which campaigns for the protection of women’s sex-based rights. Previously, she had to be given protection from the university after she received threats online.
These ‘cancellations’ are commonly related to areas of thought where debate is deemed (by the ‘cancellers’) as inadmissible. Examples of such areas are: DEI/EDI; climate change; the genetic role in intelligence; trans rights; and colonial history.
It is not possible using these examples to enumerate the more subtle ways in which academic freedom is being curtailed. It is in the nature of constraints on freedom that much is invisible. What is clear is that certain topics and free-thinkers are often seen as potentially dangerous to the academic establishment, who themselves fear cancellation for falling foul of our moral censors.
Several resistance groups are springing up. One is Academics for Academic Freedom, founded in 2006. It has distinguished academics on its advisory board, with Buckingham University academics heavily represented.
The Free Speech Union, founded by Toby Young, covers all aspects of cancellation, not just academic, and is now well-established. Its modus operandi is to offer legal and financial support to individuals who have been fired, cancelled or otherwise exiled for their personal views.
In a specifically Oxford context, the Pharos Foundation, an educational charity founded in 2023, is taking a different tack. By funding high-quality ‘heterodox’ researchers, and engaging world-class speakers, it is aiming to demonstrate that what matters in academic excellence is quality and relevance; and that academic institutions’ role is not to police content using ideological yardsticks.
The ’woke’ agenda is undoubtedly still on the move, but there are stirrings now of a resistance movement in academia. If the UK’s leading universities wish to remain at or near the top of the world rankings, then they had better hope that these stirrings grow to a counter-revolution.
Worth reading in full.
