Biographical Reflections on Academic Freedom—Part Two

Abstract This paper continues our collective reflections on academic freedom in the context of Israel’s war on Palestine, and now Lebanon. As academic suppression has flourished within Europe and beyond, a broad constellation of actors has been drawn into the conversation. In this article, we renew our effort to let complexities and transversality emerge from research concerning what we have called the ‘social suffering of various homo academicus(es)’ in the context of their lived experiences of the profound deterioration of academic freedom. The first intervention looks to the USA, examining the use of diffuse surveillance, and ‘free speech’ groups to chill academic discussion in the classroom. The second reflection examines the instrumentalization of the fight against antisemitism in order to silence criticisms of Israel in Germany, and the broad cultural and institutional context which underpins this trend. Lastly, the final intervention highlights the varied recompositions in French academia in wartime, arguing these occur less because of polarization within academia itself, than because of the attitude of external actors which puts pressure on academics.