Opinionated University
Academic Freedom, Diversity, and the Myth of Neutrality in American Higher Education

By (author) Brian Soucek

ISBN13: 9780226839653

Imprint: University of Chicago Press

Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

Format: Hardback

Published: 12/01/2026

Availability: Not yet available

Description
Why institutional neutrality is nothing but an illusion.   Can a university ever truly be neutral in today’s social and political climate? Pushing against the tide of universities increasingly pledging to stay neutral about contentious issues, law professor Brian Soucek argues that their promises are doomed to fail—universities can’t help being opinionated. In The Opinionated University, Soucek shows that neutrality is a myth by taking a deep dive into several prominent campus controversies of the day, including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and restrictions on campus speech and protest. Each issue requires universities to choose a side in what they do, if not also in what they say. In everything from curricular and admissions decisions to their response to outside rankings and their evaluation of faculty, universities express the values at the heart of their mission. Soucek argues that those pushing for neutrality are only preventing universities from standing up for their values, whether in today’s current moment of crisis or in periods of political calm. Both timely and deeply engaging, The Opinionated University calls on universities to dispense with neutrality as a governing principle and focus instead on what their mission should be, and who should determine it.
Introduction: The Myth of Neutrality 1. Diversity Statements: A Performance Evaluation, Not a Litmus Test Loyalty Oaths Viewpoint Discrimination Academic Freedom Race Discrimination 2. Distraction and Hypocrisy: Ignoring the Real Threats to Academic Freedom Student Teaching Evaluations The Rankings Racket 3. Institutional Speech: Silence Is Not Always Silent Kalvenist Missionaries Is Neutrality Possible? Areas of Agreement Department Statements 4. Institutional Counterspeech: “The Remedy for Speech That Is False Is Speech That Is True” Countering Inequality Countering Other Speech 5. Regulating Campus Speech: When More Speech Isn’t Necessarily Better Quad Speech Classroom Speech Coda: Who Should Decide a University’s Opinions? Acknowledgments Notes Index
  • Philosophy & theory of education
  • Higher & further education, tertiary education
  • Professional & Vocational
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List Price: £92.00