JAMES KIERSTEAD: Another academic freedom case
- Administrator
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
Academic freedom has become a major concern at universities across the English-speaking world in recent years. Speakers have been disinvited, papers retracted, and academics disciplined or even dismissed for things they have said or positions they have taken. My 2024 Initiative report on academic freedom at New Zealand universities demonstrated that academic freedom is also at risk here.
I was reminded of this in the latest round of my legal case against Victoria University of Wellington, which disestablished my role as a Classics lecturer at the end of 2023, only a few months after my first report for the Initiative (on administrative bloat at our universities) was published.
In a long-awaited response to my Official Information Act request, VUW sent me a number of documents. One of these was written by the professor who was Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences when I was made redundant and contains her recollections of the crucial meeting. (She claims that no notes were taken.)
In this document, the former Dean says that my research was marked down due to my lack of ‘awareness of the university’s broader research goals.’ She also says that one of the ‘limitations’ the panel perceived in my teaching had to do with ‘incorporating Māori and Pasifika perspectives.’
How exactly I was supposed to incorporate ‘Māori and Pasifika perspectives’ into my courses on ancient Greece is still something of a mystery to me. But the important thing about these expectations is that they seem to fly in the face of academic freedom.
Academic freedom means that academics have the right to conduct their own research and teaching without undue interference.
Now, I do remember hearing a little bit about the university’s ‘broader research goals’ when I was at VUW. Unfortunately, I already had my own research goals, and the right – or so I thought – to pursue them.
As for Māori and Pasifika perspectives, these are obviously important in some fields of enquiry. But what if my judgment as a scholar of ancient Greece is that they aren’t of much relevance to my subject? Am I allowed to think that without being marked down by my superiors?
Apparently not, if the former Dean’s recollections of what was said at that meeting are accurate. That is yet more evidence that New Zealand universities are undermining academic freedom rather than protecting it.
You can hear Dr James Kierstead and Dr Michael Johnston discuss this topic further on our podcast here. James is an Adjunct Fellow at the NZ Initiative. This article was sourced from their weekly newsletter.
Access other recent Brash & Mitchell posts at www.brashandmitchell.com
A review of the strategies of Marx and Lenin will show that many years ago they identified that indoctrinating the education sector was a superior way to conquer the west than warfare, this is obviously what they invested in and is paying off handsomely.
Perhaps Dr Kierstead should have offered to do a comparative study of two cultures: one that gave rise to a good part of the modern world. The other which remained (& still is) in the stone age. How could the University say no to that?
It seems our Universities / tertiary educational institutions have been majorly infiltrated by , and become embedded with , ideological activists bent on using their positions to invade / brainwash students with ideological social responsibilities specifically related to Maori and Maorification . I understood Government had taken action to head this off . It now appears not —- either that , or it hasn’t worked / has not been effective . C’mon Government don’t let these students down. Get in and clean these ideological activists out —- AND out of our Government Departments—- AND out of the Judiciary.. Education is NOT about race-based ideological brainwashing . It is about preparing students (our children) for making a successful , competiti…
I have been advising parents and students in my family, for some time now, to avoid University at all costs, find another career path. The ideological approach with marxist philosophy will only hold them back. I had a career based on University learning, but it (the teaching in the 60's) is far removed from what is going on now. The way forward to bring sense back into these now leftist establishments, is to vote with one's feet. Only money and declining student numbers will talk. Many in my generation think like me, from my observation and conversations
Our universities must do much more to protect academic freedom. Among other things, this means removing any requirement for academics to toe the line on any particular ideology whether related to the Treaty or otherwise.
This problem has also infected the publicly funded research system, where top physical sciences and engineering researchers have missed out on funding because they cannot meaningfully address Vision Matauranga. But Matauranga Maori and research implementation relationships with iwi are very often irrelevant in these fields.
Refocus the system simply
On excellence. John R.