Attacks to Academic Freedom in the context of Persisting Inequalities

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Background and Rationale
Academic freedom in Latin America is constrained not only by authoritarian pressures but also by structural inequalities that persist within higher education systems. Gender discrimination, racial exclusion, linguistic hierarchies, and class-based disparities determine whose voices are heard and whose knowledge is valued. These inequalities exacerbate vulnerability to repression, limiting both individual freedoms and institutional autonomy. This panel brings together case studies from Central America, Peru, and Brazil to explore how inequality and academic repression intersect, and to reflect on strategies for resilience and inclusion.
Cross-Cutting Issues
• Intersectionality: Attacks on academic freedom disproportionately affect women, Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and low-income scholars and students.
• Structural Inequalities: Class, gender, race, geography and language reproduce hierarchies and exclusions within universities.
• Democratic Implications: Inequalities weaken the role of higher education as a driver of pluralism, critical inquiry, and democracy.
• Comparative Insight: Linking Latin American cases to U.S. experiences highlights both local and global patterns.
Presentations
1. Libertad Académica y Democracia en Centroamérica: Riesgos, Vulnerabilidad y Resiliencia
Presenter: Clara María Josefina Arenas Bianchi de Recinos (Asociación para el Avance de las Ciencias Sociales, Guatemala)
2. Libertad Académica en Tiempos de Desigualdad: Un Laboratorio de Reflexión para el Perú
Presenter: Rodolfo Dynnik Asencios Lindo (Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, Peru)
3. Inequality, Academic Freedom and the Shadow of authoritarianism: Progress and Challenges in Brazil
Presenter: Anthony Wagner (PhD candidate New York University, USA)

Chair: Camilla Croso (Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas)

Expected Outcomes
• Document how inequalities shape attacks on academic freedom in distinct regional and institutional contexts.
• Generate comparative insights on the intersection of gender, race, class, and geography with academic repression.
• Identify strategies to promote inclusive protections for academic freedom, linking it to equity and justice in higher education.

Sub Unit

• 21st Century Educational Alternatives: Confronting Racial Capitalism, Patriarchy, Militarism, and the Climate Crisis

Organizer

• Camilla Croso, Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas

Chair

• Camilla Croso, Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas

Individual Presentations

• Libertad Académica y Democracia en Centroamérica: Riesgos, Vulnerabilidad y Resiliencia - Clara Arenas, Asociación para el avance de las ciencias sociales en Guatemala, Avancso

• Academic Freedom and the Shadow of authoritarianism: Progress and Challenges in Brazil - Anthony Lewis Wagner, New York University