This blog has looked at press freedom around the world - but what about academic freedom?
In the United States, they seem quite determined in banning books: the school curriculum and critical race theory.
Here's a report from the latest Philosophy Now magazine in their News: February/March 2026:
Philosophy Professor Banned from Teaching Plato’s Symposium
More than 200 courses at Texas A&M University have been flagged or cancelled as part of a review called by the system board into course content related to race and gender, according to academics who contacted Inside Higher Education and other publications. The scope of the review has extended well beyond contemporary material. Alongside feminist writers and queer filmmakers, foundational figures in Western philosophy have been targeted.
Philosophy professor Martin Peterson, scheduled to teach his usual course on Contemporary Moral Problems, was instructed by university leadership to remove several passages by Plato from his syllabus. In an email from department chair Kristi Sweet, Peterson was given a choice: either eliminate “modules on race and gender ideology, and the Plato readings that may include these,” or else be reassigned to a different course. This effectively banned him from teaching Plato’s Symposium, a canonical Socratic dialogue focused on the nature of love that also discusses issues relating to patriarchy, masculinity and the human condition. Peterson objected strongly, and as the dispute escalated he wrote: “Your decision to bar a philosophy professor from teaching Plato is unprecedented … You are making Texas A&M famous – but not for the right reasons.” Despite his protest, Peterson ultimately agreed to revise the syllabus, replacing the censored material with lectures on free speech and academic freedom. Rather than ignoring the incident, Peterson plans to incorporate it directly into his course material: “I’m thinking of using this as a case study and assign some of the texts written by journalists covering the story to discuss,” he explained. “I want [students] to know what is being censored.”
And here's the reaction from the press at the time:
Professor Replaces Banned Plato Texts With Article on Censorship
Texas A&M Removes Plato from Introductory Philosophy Class
A&M demands prof remove sexual orientation and race from his philosophy class - Dallas Voice
There's an intensifying kind of threat to academic freedom: Watchful students serving as informants
Here's an interview with the professor - and a comment that follows:
I taught Philosophy for forty years before my retirement; and Professor Peterson has, ostensibly been charged with "corrupting the youth" as was one of the charges levied against Socrates. Thankfully, he is not likely to be silenced in in the same way as Socrates. And I applaud the good professor's sense of Socratic restraint in his apologia. The real harm is done to his students, who have been denied the chance to have him guide them to favoring philos over eros, as Socrates argues in his speech. I taught The Symposium many times, and can say that my students' reading it--and in open dialogue about the many perspectives on love that it poses--was one of the most transformative classroom experiences for students that I can recall. I can only hope that Professor Peterson's accusers will come out of their cave, and see the light.INTERVIEW: Texas professor censored over Plato curriculum speaks out | The College Fix
What about academic freedom generally in the United States?
Examining threats to academic freedom in America and the world | Harvard Kennedy School
University of North Carolina moves to define academic freedom
40 strikes on academic freedom in 2025: Is US higher ed losing its nerve? - The Times of India
Explained: Why US universities are rejecting Trump’s controversial higher education compact
And elsewhere?
How to protect your university against authoritarianism | THE Campus Learn, Share, Connect
Academic freedom under threat for more than 50% of world’s population - Index on Censorship
But perhaps we should define the term first!
Committee For Academic Freedom - Homepage
What Is Academic Freedom — and Why It Matters Beyond the University - YouTube
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