In Defense of the AAUP’s Statement on Boycotts
John K. Wilson | 29 August 2024 | Inside Higher Ed
The American Association of University Professors has received blistering criticism for a new Statement on Academic Boycotts that superseded a 2006 report denouncing all academic boycotts. The new statement argues, instead, that “academic boycotts are not in themselves violations of academic freedom.” The statement notes that professors may choose to engage in boycotts to advance the academic freedom rights of others and asserts that academic boycotts “can be considered legitimate tactical responses to conditions that are fundamentally incompatible with the mission of higher education.”
I was initially skeptical of the AAUP’s change in policy because I oppose all academic boycotts and divestment campaigns. I think academic boycotts are ineffective, can endanger academic freedom and undermine intellectual engagement…