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Academic freedom, education, and ‘the gender wars’: a response to Suissa and Sullivan
Journal of Philosophy of Education, Volume: 59, Issue: 2, Pages: 240 - 256
Swansea University Author:
Jane Gatley
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PDF | Version of Record
© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).
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DOI (Published version): 10.1093/jopedu/qhaf003
Abstract
Judith Suissa and Alice Sullivan’s 2021 paper ‘The Gender Wars, Academic Freedom and Education’ holds that activism associated with the slogan ‘trans women are women’ harms progress towards the goals of shared learning and knowledge production. They hold that shared learning and knowledge production...
| Published in: | Journal of Philosophy of Education |
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| ISSN: | 0309-8249 1467-9752 |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press (OUP)
2025
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| Online Access: |
Check full text
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa68758 |
| Abstract: |
Judith Suissa and Alice Sullivan’s 2021 paper ‘The Gender Wars, Academic Freedom and Education’ holds that activism associated with the slogan ‘trans women are women’ harms progress towards the goals of shared learning and knowledge production. They hold that shared learning and knowledge production ground the value of the university. In response, we point out that academic freedom is not absolute, and that its contribution to learning and knowledge production is only part of a host of academic goods. Given the hostile environment faced by trans people in the UK, absolute academic freedom in relation to questions about sex, gender, and gender identity should not be taken for granted. The focus of this article is on the following: (1) academic freedom is not absolute and should be responsibly curtailed when it causes harm, or hinders other educational goods; (2) public perceptions of ‘gender debates’ in the UK cause harm and hinder other educational goods; (3) academic debates about sex, gender, and gender identity could contribute to this harm and hindrance and should be undertaken only with care. |
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| Keywords: |
free speech, academic freedom, gender, educational goods, transgender |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Funders: |
Swansea University |
| Issue: |
2 |
| Start Page: |
240 |
| End Page: |
256 |