So much for academic freedom!

There is a familiar anxiety rising in my middle. Is there something that I have forgotten to do? Have I missed a deadline? The pursuit of the average academic has become how to stay ahead of the game, keep funding flowing through their research, fulfil their commitments to the "right" committees, keep their marking up to date, and get their teaching done. There are a plethora of demands coming at us from every side, and (for people like me - and there are many of us) a profound sense of responsibility to make sure that things are done right. We are easily locked in to getting through the "to do" list, and sometimes miss the opportunities to think deeply and critically about our discipline - never mind thinking outside our discipline! 

What we fail to do at South African universities is educate young minds broadly in ethics, values, reasoning, appreciation, problem solving, argumentation and logic. Locked into single-discipline thinking, our young people fail to learn that the most complex social and human problems cannot be solved except through interdisciplinary thinking that crosses these disciplinary boundaries. (Jonathan Jansen)

As a scientist teaching in a university, I want my students to get a grip on their place in the bigger picture and the way their discipline affects the world at large, as well as the ways in which they can interact with other disciplines in order to bring about a positive impact. And yet so often I am instead caught up in the "tyranny of small things" rather than having the freedom to grapple with the complex problems which we are meant to be here to help solve.

Not only that, we find ourselves caged by the limitations of our own humanity. I am not free - academically or otherwise - because I would rather stay with what is safe. I would rather not push the difficult boundaries too far in case I upset someone and get denied funding. I would rather not upset someone else, in case it costs me a promotion. I would rather not push my students too hard in case they report me for harassment, or fail my course (which reflects badly on my teaching), or take their hard-won skills and knowledge to another faculty member. I am not free because it is easier to play it safe.

I recognize that there is a bigger debate around academic freedom, and where the trend toward managerialism impacts on it, but what concerns me here is the way I relinquish my freedom too willingly in the cause of comfort and convenience.

Life is risky, and so is freedom. Ask a question that makes you look foolish. Challenge a popular perception. Say no to another (inane) committee – even if it would look good on your CV. Go on, I dare you!