Academic Freedom and Artistic Expression

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[This is a policy statement from the American Association of University Professors. The statement was endorsed by AAUP's Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure and by its Council at their meetings in June 1990. As with all AAUP policy statements, it is in the public domain. For a comprehensive collection of AAUP statements see Policy Documents & Reports by the American Association of University Professors. http://www.eff.org/CAF/academic/

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Attempts to curtail artistic presentations at academic institutions on grounds that the works are offensive to some members of the campus community and general public occur with disturbing frequency. Those who support restrictions argue that works presented to the public rather than in the classroom or other entirely intramural settings should conform to their view of the prevailing community standard rather than to standards of academic freedom.  We believe that "essential as freedom is for the relation and judgment of facts, it is even more indispensable to the imagination." [1]   In our judgment academic freedom in the creation and presentation of works in the visual and performing arts, by ensuring greater opportunity for imaginative exploration and expression, best serves the public and the academy.

The following proposed policies are designed to assist institutions to respond to the issues that may arise from the presentation of artistic works to the public in a manner which preserves academic freedom:

l) Academic Freedom in Artistic Expression. Faculty and students engaged in the creation and presentation of works of the visual and the performing arts are engaged in pursuing the mission of the university as much as are those who write, teach, and study in other academic disciplines. Works of the visual and performing arts are important both in their own right and because they can enhance our experience and understanding of social institutions and the human condition. Artistic expression in the classroom, studio, and workshop therefore merits the same assurance of academic freedom that is accorded to other scholarly and teaching activities.  Since faculty and student artistic presentations to the public are integral to their teaching, learning, and scholarship, these presentations no less merit protection. Educational and artistic criteria should be used by all who participate in the selection and presentation of artistic works. Reasonable content-neutral regulation of the "time, place, and manner" of presentations should be developed and maintained. Academic institutions are obliged to ensure that regulations and procedures do not impair freedom of expression or discourage creativity by subjecting work to tests of propriety or ideology.

2) Accountability. Academic institutions provide artistic performances and exhibits to encourage artistic creativity, expression, learning, and appreciation.  The institutions do not thereby endorse the specific artistic presentations nor do the presentations necessarily represent the institution. This principle of institutional neutrality does not relieve institutions of general responsibility for

maintaining professional and educational standards, but it does mean that institutions are not responsible for the views or attitudes expressed in specific artistic works any more than they would be for the content of other instruction, publication, or invited speeches. Correspondingly, those who present artistic work should not represent themselves or their work as speaking for the institution and should otherwise fulfill their educational and professional responsibilities.

3) The Audience. When academic institutions offer exhibitions or performances to the public, they should ensure that the rights of the presenters and the audience are not impaired by a "heckler's veto" from those who may be offended by the presentation. Academic institutions should ensure that those who choose to view or attend may do so without interference. Mere presentation in a public place does not create a "captive audience."  Institutions may reasonably designate specific places as generally available or unavailable for exhibitions or performances.

4) Public Funding. Public funding for artistic presentations and for academic institutions does not diminish (and indeed may heighten) the responsibility of the university community to ensure academic freedom and of the public to respect the integrity of academic institutions. Government imposition on artistic expression of a test of propriety, ideology, or religion is an act of censorship which impermissibly denies the academic freedom to explore, teach, and learn.