Academic Freedom in a Time of Destruction: Reconsidering Extramural Speech

The protection of extramural speech is a part of academic freedom that has not been as extensively explored as other key components. Although extramural speech is not different in kind from constitutionally protected speech, it entails specific protections from retaliation by administrators, including censorship, suspension, and termination. It also contains some theoretical connections between the university and democratic life. Violations of extramural protections have escalated recently in light of university actions against protesters of Israeli state violence. The protection of extramural speech is crucial for understanding the relationship of democracy to higher education, and the centrality of the right to education in protecting democratic freedoms. The "wall" distinguishing intra- and extra mural speech calls to be rethought, given that, especially under scholasticide, the infrastructural conditions that make education possible also make sense of academic freedom.