Abstract

The debate over the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression on university campuses and within wider society is often framed within the terms of a ‘culture war’. Arguments about the limitations of speech and the struggle for control over what can and cannot be said, and who can or cannot be allowed to speak, within the educational and public space, is assuming greater prominence and has been identified as a threat to traditional notions of the university ethos where the free exchange of ideas, especially those deemed to be difficult, offensive and challenging, can be scrutinized and questioned.

The explicit invocation of the rhetoric of ‘war’ in an increasingly hostile atmosphere over free-speech is thus an invitation for students of War Studies to assume a leading role in discussing and analysing the implications, and to bring their own, unique, dispassionate perspective to bear.

The intention of this new lecture and seminar series will be to explore the dimensions of this debate. How is it possible to think intelligently about what is going on and to shine a light on the many controversial aspects of this topic?

Our launch event will be a conversation between the expert in academic freedom, Dr Joanna Williams and Professor Michael Rainsborough, Head of the Department of War Studies.

Biography

Dr Joanna Williams is Head of Education and Culture at Policy Exchange. She is an author, commentator and the associate editor of Spiked. Joanna began her career teaching English in secondary schools and Further Education. She started working as a lecturer in Higher Education and Academic Practice at the University of Kent in 2007. She was Director of Kent’s Centre for the Study of Higher Education until 2016.

Dr Williams is the author of Consuming Higher Education Why Learning Can’t Be Bought (Bloomsbury, 2012) and Academic Freedom in an Age of Conformity (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016). Her most recent book is Women vs Feminism (Emerald, 2017).

The event and conversation will begin at 18:30 in the Great Hall on the Strand campus of King’s College London, with a light reception to be held in the same location directly afterwards.