Reclaiming Academic Freedom: A Decolonial Analysis of University Silence Under the Palestine Exception

• In Event: Palestinian Liberation and Solidarity

Abstract

This paper critically examines academia's silence during genocide in Gaza by focusing on the shifting discourses of intellectual and academic freedom in Texas. Examining laws and contradictory statements by state leaders since 2019 reveals how state actors manipulate free speech to serve racial and economic interests. University compliance with political demands underscores their prioritization of property preservation over the scholarly ideals outlined by the 1941 AAUP Principles. Centering the experiences of Du Bois, Said, and Davis, this paper argues that a decolonial praxis of university scholarship demands a revised understanding of academic freedom. It advocates viewing academic freedom not as an individual right but as a means to collective liberation.

Author

• Habiba Noor, Trinity University