Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>The university is a foundational institution in society, shaping our shared understandings of knowledge and truth. In doing so, it serves as a cornerstone of democracy and a critical bulwark against authoritarianism. Recent actions taken by the Trump administration pose an existential threat to this institution by undermining its singular animating right: academic freedom. In this book, several preeminent thinkers on academic freedom draw from their experience as university leaders and First Amendment scholars to portray this troubling moment for academic freedom. The authors mount a forceful defense of academic freedom, tracing its origins, developments, and attacks in this current moment, and charting a path forward. The origin of our current conception of academic freedom is deeply interwoven with the history of the American university. Throughout that history, the Supreme Court has enshrined the principle of academic freedom within our First Amendment jurisprudence, unceasingly affirming the principle while continuing to refine its contours. The Trump administration has employed an authoritarian playbook to assault this principle, withholding federal research funding and exploiting antidiscrimination laws, among other tactics. The administration’s federal education policy parallels separate attempts to destroy higher education throughout history, including attacks in mid-20th-century United States, 1930s Germany, and 1600s England. To prevail in this moment, universities must defend academic freedom by clarifying and reaffirming the constitutional origins of the principle, emphasizing its indispensable societal role, and refining and articulating the distinct culture and structures of universities that allow the principle to flourish.</jats:p>