“Dangerous Ideas on Campus”: the evolution of academic freedom
Matthew Ehrlich, professor emeritus of journalism at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and his new book "Dangerous Ideas on Campus"
The early 1960s were a time of transition in American—especially in higher education—when universities were preparing for the tidal wave of Baby Boomers that would be flooding onto campus and also reckoning with growing calls for more freedom on campus, especially among young women. This time is the subject of the new book "Dangerous Ideas on Campus: Sex , Conspiracy, and Academic Freedom in the Age of JFK.” It looks at two free speech cases from the University of Illinois in the 1960s. We were joined by the book's author to talk about how those cases still resonate today when universities remain a central front in the so-called culture wars.
GUEST:
Matthew Ehrlich
Professor emeritus of journalism at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | Author of the new book "Dangerous Ideas on Campus: Sex , Conspiracy, and Academic Freedom in the Age of JFK”
The case of Leo Koch, a U of I biology professor fired in #1960 for writing that it was OK for students to have sex before marriage, was one reason for writing DANGEROUS IDEAS ON CAMPUS. Read more about it in @mattcehrlich’s Q&A!https://t.co/fu2OeQroYa pic.twitter.com/j0OalNNnNC
— Illinois Press (@IllinoisPress) December 1, 2021
Prepared for web by Owen Henderson
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