Strengthening Comparative Research and Critical Thinking on Academic Freedom in the Americas
Call for Research Proposals
This Call for Research is sponsored by the Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas (CAFA)[1] and by the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO)[2], within the framework of its Platforms for Social Dialogue Project, and has the following objectives:
- To deepen knowledge and understanding of the issue of academic freedom in the Americas by identifying particularities and common trends throughout the hemisphere, fostering both collective research groups and individual scholarship recipients.
- To create a critical mass of researchers throughout the region capable of contributing to this field of research and inspiring other researchers to join this work.
- Disseminate research findings in written and oral form, through CAFA and CLACSO websites, and through workshops and seminars, establishing dialogues with policy makers, UN institutions, civil society actors and other stakeholders to advance respect for and protection of academic freedom as a fundamental human right.
Background
In recent years there has been growing recognition and visibility of the importance of academic freedom from regional and international human rights bodies. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, for example, approved in 2021 a landmark instrument called the Inter-American Principles on Academic Freedom and University Autonomy, which frames academic freedom as “an independent and interdependent human right, which allows the exercise of a series of other rights” and enunciates 16 principles related to its promotion. A year earlier, in the international arena, David Kaye, in his mandate as United Nations Special Rapporteur, published his report on Academic Freedom and Freedom of Opinion and Expression, paving the way for further fruitful work. Inspired by his report, a group of organizations, movements, academics and UN agencies came together to form the Working Group on Academic Freedom, which for two years worked to develop International Principles for the Application of Academic Freedom. This inspired, among other things, 70 states to issue a Joint Statement on Academic Freedom in March 2023 at the Human Rights Council, calling for greater international cooperation to strengthen it.
Along the same lines, in 2024, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, Farida Shaheed, published her Report on Academic Freedom, stressing that academic freedom is “the human right to acquire, develop, transmit, apply and engage with a diversity of knowledge and ideas through research, teaching, learning and discourse.” In this report he sets out four pillars of academic freedom, which should apply to all levels of education: the right to teach, to engage in discussion and debate with individuals and groups within and outside the academic community, to research, and to disseminate opinions and research findings. He further stresses that institutional autonomy is an instrumental dimension of academic freedom whose continuing challenge is that “academic freedom has not yet been accepted in the spheres of government or by the general public as being as crucial as a free press or an independent judiciary.”
In reviewing some of the literature on academic freedom, it is found that Moshman posits academic freedom in both its individual and collective dimensions (2017). The conceptualization of academic freedom also offers approaches that focus on professors, students, institutions, and that are related to other freedoms, such as university autonomy, access to institutional spaces and resources without discrimination or exclusion, as well as freedom of expression and opinion. Other authors emphasize that guaranteeing academic freedom implies non-interference or external influence in academic work processes, thus avoiding censorship of content produced through scientific methods (Madrid, 2017), considering diverse epistemic systems. Moshman (2017) further points out that academic freedom must be defended not only against the State, but also against the institutions themselves, and that academic freedom is also crucial in places such as libraries or public repositories, as spaces for academic inquiry and democratization of knowledge.
From the review carried out, some dimensions insufficiently addressed such as those related to gender, the digital world or human mobility and the need to deepen in the field of the production of new knowledge.
Consolidating research on academic freedom in the Americas has profound significance for advancing our understanding and ability to advocate for its defense and protection. Despite its critical importance for the advancement of human rights and democracy, this field remains under-researched, particularly in the face of escalating attacks on academic freedom in the context of growing authoritarianism around the world. For example, at the two most recent international research conferences related to the Americas (LASA, June 2024) and the right to education (Comparative International Education Society, March 2024), the number of panels focused on academic freedom was less than a handful.
The need to promote research on academic freedom becomes more urgent when looking at the results of the Academic Freedom Index (AFi) 2023, which point to the deterioration of academic freedom around the world and in the Americas. Examples of such deterioration are the erosion of university academic autonomy, the judicialization of academics, increasing online threats and harassment, the lack of protective measures, accompanied by a lack of adequate institutional response. Attacks against student organizations are also part of the struggle for academic freedom and an intersectional lens is important to understand attacks on academic freedom and to overcome them.
By developing a critical mass of research, we will be able to illustrate the diverse challenges and contexts throughout the hemisphere, enabling a deeper understanding of the nuances surrounding academic freedom and ultimately empowering us to formulate more effective strategies to safeguard and promote it.
The development of a broad body of research not only enhances our understanding, but also strengthens our ability to protect and defend academic freedom in the hemisphere. By examining the various dimensions of the problem, sub-regional contexts and institutional frameworks, we can identify common trends, areas requiring more urgent attention, and issues requiring further research and analysis. This knowledge further serves as a vital tool for policy makers, activists and stakeholders working to advance academic freedom, fostering dialogue and collaboration between academic institutions, civil society organizations, interested UN agencies and the Inter-American Human Rights System in a collective effort to address systemic challenges.
This effort aligns perfectly with recent developments in the region, particularly the approval of the aforementioned Inter-American Principles on Academic Freedom and University Autonomy. By consolidating research efforts, we can complement and reinforce the application of these principles, turning them from aspirational ideals into tangible realities. Through interdisciplinary collaboration and sustained research initiatives, we can pave the way for a more vibrant and resilient academic community in the Americas, where academic freedom thrives as an essential pillar of democratic societies.
Thematic research priorities
Considering the above-mentioned regional and global context, five lines of research are proposed for this Call, which are indicative but not exclusive:
- Academic freedom and the strengthening of democracy: Through this line of research, we want to explore the relationship between academic freedom and the strengthening of democracy, questioning and observing its practical implications in people’s lives. This line of research also seeks to unravel the understanding of academic freedom as a right, historicizing and contextualizing this perspective, while exploring its relationship with other rights and the ways in which it materializes in concrete terms.
- Academic freedom and the pursuit of scientific development: Through this line of research, we want to explore the relationship of academic freedom and the pursuit of scientific development, seeking to better understand the obstacles posed by science denialism and anti-science movements, such as those related to climate change, as well as the commodification of education and the growing influence of industry in setting the agenda for scientific research, particularly through conditional funding mechanisms.
- Academic Freedom and Technology: Through this line of research, we want to explore the threats that surveillance, digitization and platformization of education, including the use of AI, pose to the academic freedom of teachers and students. A collaboration on this line of research with Farida Shaheed may be fruitful, considering that AI will be the topic of her next thematic report.
- Academic freedom and university autonomy: Through this line of research, we want to explore the different dimensions of university autonomy, namely pedagogical, administrative and financial. Regarding the latter, it will be important to explore the connections with the resistance and overcoming of the neoliberal university, with budget cuts and a concomitant pressure to respond to narrow metrics of productivist evaluation, with the consequent precarization of teaching and research.
- Academic freedom and structural inequalities: In this line of research, threats to academic freedom will be explored through a power lens, seeking to understand the class, gender, ethno-racial and colonial dynamics at play, including the impacts of migration within the continent. This line of inquiry also involves interrogating how these different dimensions of inequality consolidate exclusions and hierarchies within academia.
Against this background, the Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas (CAFA)[3] and the Latin American Social Sciences Council (CLACSO) are launching this Call for the strengthening of comparative research and critical thinking within the framework of academic freedom in the Americas.
RULES OF THE CALL
- Collective applications are expected (teams of 3 to 6 members).
- It is recommended, but not exclusive, that at least one of the team members has accredited links with a Member Centre of the CLACSO network or with instances of the Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas (CLAA).
- The information provided in the registration form is considered as a sworn statement.
- If the project is selected, a letter of endorsement signed by the highest authority of the member center to which the proposal is linked must be submitted.
- The composition of the teams must respect gender parity and one of the members must be selected as responsible for the registration of the project. These should be formed by trained researchers, i.e., those with a master's degree, doctorate or equivalent, and proven academic trajectory; and by researchers in training, i.e., those pursuing a master's degree/doctorate or with a bachelor's degree. The teams are expected to be intergenerational, integrating researchers from diverse backgrounds and experiences.
- Likewise, the proposals may be integrated by people from different countries, promoting exchange and regional dialogue as a practice of intervention in the topics focused on in this Call for Proposals.
- Each researcher may participate with only one proposal in this Call for Proposals.
- Members of the Steering Committee or officers of the Executive Secretariat of CLACSO or of the Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas (CAFA) are not eligible to apply.
- Proposals will not be accepted from researchers who are currently grantees in the framework of other calls for research, scholarships or trials organized by CLACSO. Applications will be accepted from researchers who have been selected in a Call for research awarded by CLACSO, provided that the beneficiary has complied in due time and form with the obligations duly contracted.
- In the event that the project is awarded and travel is necessary, the winners must cover the costs of medical or similar insurance at their own expense.
- Up to 7 (seven) research groups will be supported, considering 6 (six) in Latin America and the Caribbean and 1 (one) in North America, distributed as follows: 2 (two) in Conosur (of which 1 will be for Brazil), 1 (one) in the Andean Region, 2 (two) in Mesoamerica (of which 1 will be for Mexico and another for Central America), 1 (one) in the Caribbean and 1 (one) in North America.
- The amount of support will consist of U$D 10,000 (ten thousand U.S. dollars or its equivalent in local currency) for each selected
- Financial support will be paid in three instalments through bank transfers made out to the name of the coordinator of the selected team upon delivery of the progress products and the approval of the mentor, in addition to the presentation of a receipt or invoice.
- CAFA and CLACSO will publish the final products in printed and/or digital media, giving them wide publicity and dissemination by the means they deem appropriate. If necessary, in the editorial process, researchers will be asked to make the necessary adaptations and adjustments so that the works resulting from the research can be published in different formats.
- Completed research will not be accepted. Proposals may be linked to ongoing research processes, but the final work must be original and unpublished products developed within the period established by the call for proposals.
- Texts written in the four languages commonly used in Latin America and the Caribbean (Spanish, English, Portuguese and French) will be accepted, depending on the country of origin of the proposal.
- In a first stage, the proposals submitted will be reviewed in their formal and administrative aspects in order to verify their compliance with the bidding rules. Proposals that do not comply with the established requirements will be technically rejected.
- The applications that pass to the next stage will be evaluated by an International Committee composed of experts who will assess the quality and relevance of the proposals, which will be submitted under a pseudonym. This Committee will be proposed jointly by CAFA and CLACSO.
- The Call for Proposals may be declared void or a smaller number of projects may be selected if the proposals submitted are not of sufficient quality and consistency.
- Situations not foreseen in this document will be resolved by the institution that issued the invitation.
- The decision shall be irrevocable and not subject to appeal.
- The selected teams will work with the accompaniment of tutors who will follow the process of their work plans, research and results.
- Each team must submit the adjustment to its proposal, partial reports and final document within the established deadlines.
- The selected teams will participate in virtual meetings organized by CLACSO and CAFA to form a community in which they will share the progress made in the research process.
- As follow-up instruments, each team will receive a Social Dialogues and impacts registration table that must be submitted together with the progress report and the final report.
- The research will have a duration of 10 (ten) months, developing its work plan between November 2024 and August 2025.
- The progress and final reports submitted by the researchers will be evaluated by the designated tutors.
- The final deliverables will be at least three:
- Research papers should be between 12,000 and 15,000 words in length (annexes and bibliography aside), written in Times New Roman 12 font, single spaced. This criterion is approximate and CLACSO and CAFA are free to make reformulations or exceptions if deemed necessary. Likewise, once submitted, CLACSO and CLAA may ask the researchers to make the necessary adjustments and changes so that the final research papers can be published according to the institutional criteria. The structure of the text will be free, respecting the conventions of presentation of an academic text and CLACSO's editorial standards, as well as APA + GENDER.
- Action Guidelines Document (PLA), containing inputs, proposals and recommendations for public policies and social intervention on the topics investigated. The format of these PLAs will be informed in due course.
- A training proposal for public policy agents or members of social organizations that can be implemented and that expresses the main findings of the research conducted.
- The objective of these three products (which are a minimum requirement for meeting the objectives of the Call for Proposals) will be to promote social, multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral dialogues on the topics addressed by each team.
- The three established products may be complemented with audiovisual materials or pieces for social networks.
- All results must be communicated in writing, but the production of other formats and languages will also be promoted to communicate and make them visible, such as: audiovisuals, materials for social networks and booklets or booklets with tools for action.
- Authors will cede the right of original publication of the works, given that CAFA and CLACSO adhere to and defend the principles of open science and open access to knowledge, so that what is produced is easy to find, accessible, interoperable and reusable. Subsequently, they may be published in any other media, always citing this Call for Papers. Researchers must inform CLACSO of the subsequent publication of the works resulting from the research work.
- The research team will make the work available to CLACSO to register the corresponding work, respecting the author's name, and to carry out the dissemination of the work it deems appropriate.
- Authors may request express authorization for publication by other means, always taking into account the corresponding credits and mentions. Likewise, it is also committed to inform about the publication of the material presented, as well as to indicate in the credits the financing granted for the realization or completion of this work.
It is an indispensable requirement that the presentation be made through the online registration system provided by CLACSO. Paper submissions or submissions sent by e-mail will not be accepted. It is recommended to access the online system to know the format of the registration.
- Log in to the CLACSO website org. The online registration system will be available as of September 18th, 2024.
- Register in CLACSO's Single Registration System (SUIC). The user name and password generated will be requested each time you wish to enter the system to consult, modify, add or send information in this or any other CLACSO activity. Applicants who are part of a collective proposal must open a single form that includes all the researchers on the team. Likewise, one of the authors must be designated as the person responsible for the registration. This person will receive the corresponding monetary allocation in case the proposal is selected by the Jury.
- Identify the proposal by indicating its title and the pseudonym(s) of the applicant(s). Applications whose pseudonyms correspond to the name and/or surname of the applicant(s) will not be accepted. Once the corresponding fields have been completed, the system will enable the uploading of the following data.
- Applicants must indicate on the application form their affiliation with a Member Center belonging to the CLACSO network. Consult the database of member centers at: org.ar/clacso/centros_miembros_clacso/inicio.php.
- Complete the personal and academic data form and attach the curriculum vitae in free format; a digital copy of the identity card, passport or identity card; a digital copy of the highest academic degree obtained (or proof of degree in process) and a photograph.
- The proposal must be filled in the form that appears once the personal and academic data have been completed.
- Once the registration is closed, the system will produce an electronic certificate of receipt that will serve as proof of application.
Deadline for registration: October 28, 2024
Publication of winners: November, 2024
Project implementation: November 2024 – August 2025
Submission of the final report: August 31, 2025
The results will be published on the CLACSO and CAFA websites. Winners will be contacted by e-mail.
Inquiries: [email protected]
[1] It is a non-governmental and non-profit network, created in 2021, based at the University of Monterrey, UDEM, Mexico. It was founded by Academics at Risk, UDEM and the Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC) of the University of Ottawa. Its membership spans the hemisphere and has established institutional relationships with key partners in national and international settings. CAFA seeks to promote, protect and respect academic freedom and university autonomy, with the goal of developing relevant human rights standards that serve to protect educational spaces, identify best practices and strengthen democratic principles in the Americas. It carries out advocacy, monitoring, research and strategic communication.
[2] It is an international non-governmental institution with associative status at UNESCO, created in 1967. It currently groups 938 research and postgraduate centers in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities in 57 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and other continents. Its areas of work include the reduction of inequalities and social injustice; the fight against racism, ethnic and gender discrimination, the defense of academic freedom and the defense of public education and the expansion of the right to a democratic, inclusive and quality education for all. CLACSO promotes research, training and the dissemination of knowledge in open access and fosters institutional alliances for collaborative and cooperative work that achieves social, political and cultural impact.
[3] It is a non-governmental and non-profit network, created in 2021, based at the University of Monterrey, UDEM, Mexico. It was founded by Academics at Risk, UDEM and the Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC) of the University of Ottawa. Its membership spans the hemisphere and has established institutional relationships with key partners in national and international settings. CAFA seeks to promote, protect and respect academic freedom and university autonomy, with the goal of developing relevant human rights standards that serve to protect educational spaces, identify best practices and strengthen democratic principles in the Americas. It carries out advocacy, monitoring, research and strategic communication.
RESULT – Strengthening Comparative Research and Critical Thinking on Academic Freedom in the Americas
Consolidating research on academic freedom in the Americas has profound significance for advancing our understanding and ability to advocate for its defence and protection. Despite its critical importance for the advancement of human rights and democracy, this field remains under-researched, particularly in the face of escalating attacks on academic freedom in the context of growing authoritarianism around the world.
The need to foster research on academic freedom becomes more urgent when looking at the results of the 2023 Academic Freedom Index (AFi), which point to the deterioration of academic freedom worldwide and in the Americas. Examples of such deterioration are the erosion of university academic autonomy, the judicialization of academics, increasing online threats and harassment, the lack of protective measures, accompanied by a lack of adequate institutional response. Attacks against student organizations are also part of the struggle for academic freedom and an intersectional lens is important to understand attacks on academic freedom and to overcome them.
Considering the above regional and global context, five lines of research were proposed for the Call, indicative but not exclusive: Academic freedom and the strengthening of democracy, academic freedom and the pursuit of scientific development, academic freedom and technology, academic freedom and university autonomy and finally academic freedom and structural inequalities.
Based on this background, the Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas (CAFA) and the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) launched the present Call for the Strengthening of Comparative Research and Critical Thinking in the Framework of Academic Freedom in the Americas.
Seventy-one forms were opened, and 34 complete applications were finally received, which after the technical and formal review, were able to be qualitatively evaluated by the International Committee to consider the quality, relevance and coherence of the proposals in accordance with the Call for Proposals.
The evaluation process was carried out by an International Committee composed of 6 experts from different countries: Camilla Croso (Brazil), Rafael Ibarra Garza (Mexico), Isaac Nahon-Serfaty, (Venezuela/Canada), Lia Pinheiro Barbosa (Brazil), Juan Piovani (Argentina) and Laura Rovelli (Argentina).
Based on the evaluations received, the list of selected proposals is as follows:
|
Authors |
Institutional Filiation |
Country |
Title of the proposal |
|
Anny Ocoró Loango – María Camila Landazury – Clara Luisa Martins Brandão – ARBEY BUSTAMANTE – Jorge Enrique Garcia Rincón |
Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Argentina – FLACSO – Argentina |
Argentina |
Academic freedom and struggles against structural inequalities in an intersectional perspective: The role of Afro-Latin American researchers associations |
|
Milena Pereira Fukuoka – Patricia Lima Pereira – Evelyn Mendoza Baez – Ever Enriquez – Magdalena Rivarola – Gustavo Setrini |
Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, Paraguay – FLACSO Paraguay |
Paraguay |
Commercialization, Credentialism and Political Capture: a historical-comparative study of the barriers to the development of academic freedom and university autonomy in Paraguay |
|
Rodolfo Dynnik Asencios Lindo – Stephanie Hatsumi Gutierrez Otsu – Milagros Maria Badillo Palomino |
Institute of Peruvian Studies – IEP |
Perú |
Academic Freedom in Times of Inequality: A Laboratory of Reflection for Peru |
|
Juan Alfredo Tuesta Panduro – Vilda Rodríguez Méndez – Norbisley Fernández – Ognara García García – Yailé Caballero Mota |
National Agrarian University of the Jungle Tingo Maria – UNAS |
Perú |
Inclusive editorial management of the open academic digital book in Latin America |
|
Mario Rolando Chocoj Méndez – Silvia Calderon – Clara María Josefina Arenas Bianchi de Recinos – Jorge Waldemar Urquiza Martínez – Rodolfo Rubio Pérez – María Estela Rivero Fuentes |
Association for the Advancement of Social Sciences – AVANCSO |
Guatemala |
Academic freedom and its relationship with democracy and inclusion in Central America: risks, vulnerability and resilience |
|
Fernando Romani Sales – Paula Aldana Lucero – Rosario Figari Layús – Maria Fernanda Silva Assis |
Faculty of Law of the University of São Paulo (USP) |
Brazil |
Academic freedom and scientific development in the context of climate and scientific denialism of ultra-directionalism in Brazil and Argentina |
|
Ana Lucia Ramazzini Morales – Marisa Gisele Ruiz Trejo – Tania Selene Mata Parducci |
Faculty of Social Sciences Campus III – UNACH – Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas |
Mexico |
Critical women thinkers and the crisis of academic freedom in Chiapas and Central America (1910-2024) |
