China, the Humanities, and Academic Freedom - Prof. John Fitzgerald

Event Details

Date:

Thursday, 12 October 2017 - Thursday, 12 October 2017

Time:

6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Room:

Sir Llew Edwards Building (#14), Room 212

UQ Location:

Sir Llew Edwards Building (St Lucia)

URL:

Event category(s):

Full Description:: Are mediaeval notions of academic freedom still relevant in the contemporary university, and if so, how they can be upheld today? The inherited Western ideal of the solitary mendicant scholar, free to roam without interference and speak truth to the prince at court, sits uneasily alongside the immense resources invested in contemporary universities charged with driving global innovation, industry, and business.

Professor John Fitzgerald argues that the Western academy’s commitment to free and open critical inquiry in the humanities, arts and sciences is thrown into sharp relief by the rapid rise of China and the growing impact of an academic model in which freedom plays little part. He asks what might be done to balance a commitment to academic freedom with healthy engagement among universities in Australia and China in pursuing collaborative teaching and research.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
John Fitzgerald is President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, and Director of the Asia Pacific Program in Social Investment and Philanthropy in the Swinburne Centre for Social Impact at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne.