Academic Freedom

A welcome arrival…provides a careful and precise accounting of the state of the relationship between academic freedom and the First Amendment as well as provocative arguments about the proper relationship between the two. -- Michael Meranze * Los Angeles Review of Books * The most thoughtful legal discussion of academic freedom ever published. -- John O. McGinnis * Law & Liberty * An indispensable guide…makes a solid case for classifying academic freedom as a specific subset of First Amendment rights…[Rabban’s] account of First Amendment law on academic freedom is likely to remain the gold standard. -- John R. Vile * Free Speech Center * Rabban argues convincingly that academic freedom should be seen as a distinctive First Amendment right…A much clearer distinction between claims that should qualify for the protection of academic freedom and those best left to general First Amendment doctrine is long overdue. Rabban’s book provides a terrific starting point. -- Glenn Altschuler and David Wippman * The Hill * The best kind of scholarship—deeply researched and immensely useful. Wherever you stand on issues of free speech and academic freedom, you will learn from this book. -- Michael Roth, President of Wesleyan University The best book that I have seen on academic freedom and its relationship to the First Amendment. It describes the history of academic freedom in the Supreme Court and in lower courts, and develops a useful approach for applying the concept. A must-read for all involved in higher education. -- Erwin Chemerinsky, University of California, Berkeley School of Law A major work on the history and practice of academic freedom in the United States by one of our leading experts. This landmark contribution could not be more timely and more necessary. -- Keith Whittington, Princeton University Essential. Through insightful analysis of historical controversies and conflicting case law, David Rabban constructs a theoretical framework that foregrounds the distinctive value of expert academic inquiry in fostering knowledge and promoting democratic citizenship. This book clarifies the meaning not only of academic freedom but also of free speech more broadly and the First Amendment itself. -- Laura Weinrib, Harvard Law School Indispensable. Academic freedom is a perennially contested subject, particularly in its constitutional dimensions, but David Rabban has authored a comprehensive guide to the law. -- Robert Post, Yale Law School