Call for Papers: Science, Education and Academic Freedom under Authoritarian Regimes of 21st Century (22-24 January, 2020)

DEADLINE: November 20, 2019.

Department of Sociology, Lund University is organizing an International Workshop "Science, Education and Academic Freedom under Authoritarian Regimes of 21st Century". The workshop wants to bring together academics, experts and practitioners whose work is relevant for the theme of the workshop. Organizers also intend to include a broader range of countries as empirical cases, as well as aim for a diverse group of participants, including gender representation.

The world has witnessed the rise of a new type of authoritarianism during the 21st century, especially in the recent decade. This new wave of authoritarianism is characterized, firstly, by denying or modifying scientific knowledge and diminishing the autonomy of intellectuals; and secondly, by responding innovatively and effectively to risks of academic (and social) unrest, skillfully navigating the public opinion in what has been termed the “post-truth age”. Impacting intensely science, education and academia, authoritarian regimes engage in creating their own ‘scientists’, ‘academics’ and ‘knowledges’ that would help accomplish the ideological projects of the regime. Against this background, our workshop titled “Science, Education and Academic Freedom under Authoritarian Regimes of 21st Century“ aims to look at the complex relationship of authoritarianism vis-à-vis science, education and academic freedom in different contemporary authoritarian states in the 21st century, and invites scholars for contributions that can shed light to this relationship.

Focusing on contemporary authoritarian regimes we would like to answer the following main questions, while also welcoming additional questions:

• What are the new strategies of 21st century authoritarian regimes, and to which extent do these strategies redefine authoritarianism in the 21st century?
• What do these strategies look like in particular with regard to authoritarian policies targeting science and education?
• In what ways do authoritarian regimes intervene in science, education and production of knowledge in the 21st century?
• Which academic and educational practices attain support from authoritarian regimes? Which practices are particularly vulnerable, and for what reasons?
• Can we observe similar strategies across different contemporary authoritarian regimes?
• How can we define academic freedom under authoritarian regimes?

The workshop wants to bring together academics, experts and practitioners whose work is relevant for the theme of the workshop. We also intend to include a broader range of countries as empirical cases, as well as aim for a diverse group of participants, including gender representation. Please send a 250 words abstract to ece_cihan.ertem@soc.lu.se using the title “Workshop: Authoritarian Regimes of the 21st Century“ until November 20, 2019. For the selected participants, transportation costs, accommodation, and meals during the workshop days will be covered.

Organization Committee:

Dr. Ece Cihan Ertem, Postdoctoral Researcher at Department of Sociology, Lund University
Dr. Barbara Schulte, Associate Professor at Department of Sociology, Lund University