Academic Freedom, Epistemic Community of Exiled Scholars, and Global Solidarity Networks
Start Date
7-8-2026 10:30 AM
End Date
7-8-2026 10:45 AM
Location
ALT 204
Abstract
As tensions rise throughout the world, more and more scholars are displaced from their home countries to an unprecedented degree. Western countries have set up safety nets and programs to place these scholars in temporary research or teaching positions. But what do these stories tell us about the state and future of academic freedom in the western world? Journals and reports from organizations like Scholars at Risk and the Scholar Research Fund reveal a foundation built off assumptions of inequality and democratic backsliding that includes the Global North as much as it does the Global South. This paper seeks to understand the experiences of scholars in exile through examining four key components. The first, being the political economy of academic freedom, comparing the degrees of academic freedom between democracies and autocracies, and high versus low-income countries. Second, investigating policies of oppression in academia between countries with a primary focus on the US and Turkey. Third, the first-hand accounts of exiled scholars gathered through in-depth interviews examining how displacement affects identity. Fourth, examining the available support networks for exiled scholars, many large support networks are based in North America and Europe aiding scholars in fleeing their home countries and giving temporary residence. Through these networks, scholars form connections and find solidarity with epistemic communities while also staying active in the academic sphere and opposing the oppressive forces that led to their exile.
Academic Freedom, Epistemic Community of Exiled Scholars, and Global Solidarity Networks
ALT 204
As tensions rise throughout the world, more and more scholars are displaced from their home countries to an unprecedented degree. Western countries have set up safety nets and programs to place these scholars in temporary research or teaching positions. But what do these stories tell us about the state and future of academic freedom in the western world? Journals and reports from organizations like Scholars at Risk and the Scholar Research Fund reveal a foundation built off assumptions of inequality and democratic backsliding that includes the Global North as much as it does the Global South. This paper seeks to understand the experiences of scholars in exile through examining four key components. The first, being the political economy of academic freedom, comparing the degrees of academic freedom between democracies and autocracies, and high versus low-income countries. Second, investigating policies of oppression in academia between countries with a primary focus on the US and Turkey. Third, the first-hand accounts of exiled scholars gathered through in-depth interviews examining how displacement affects identity. Fourth, examining the available support networks for exiled scholars, many large support networks are based in North America and Europe aiding scholars in fleeing their home countries and giving temporary residence. Through these networks, scholars form connections and find solidarity with epistemic communities while also staying active in the academic sphere and opposing the oppressive forces that led to their exile.
