Historians Against the War Annual Conference - April 11-13, 2008 - Atlanta, Georgia

Roundtable - Beyond David Horowitz: Perspectives on Academic Freedom in the 21st Century

“Challenges to Academic Freedom and the First Amendment in Publishing”

Matt Bokovoy, University of Nebraska Press

Basic Challenges to Academic Freedom in Scholarly Publishing
- Proper peer review of scholarly and trade market projects.
- “soft review” vs. “rigorous review.”
- Ideological balance of acquisitions for all projects, keeping imprint as basis for intellectual discourse in disciplines, fields, and subfields - acquisitions as forum for debate
- Defining the book retail market for scholarly debate.
- Editorial and Marketing, rejecting controversial projects under “marketing considerations,” the importance of short and long-term editorial planning.

Undue Challenges to Academic Freedom in Scholarly Publishing
- Shielding university press imprint from intra-university politics.
- Protecting editorial planning from special interests outside of university, role of director and editor-in-chief
- Undue demands from university presidents, from freedom to micro-management.
- University donors via the university press, donations exchanged for book contracts.
- Publication subsidies (grants) from institutions and private foundations, the variety of demands.
- The role of the faculty board in protecting the university press imprint.

Some Recent Controversies in University Press Publishing and Academic Freedom
- The Norman Finkelstein Case: The historian as cultural critic, the university press, and the tenure process.
- Erwin Chemerinsky and UCI Law School: When university donors question scholarly reputation of administrator, the role of scholarly community in supporting academic freedom.
- Nadia Abu El-Haj: When scholarly research and public events collide, the role of outside interests and its academic supporters in undermining professional peer review process and standards of academic disciplines and fields.
- Ward Churchill, when controversial, tenured scholar causes problems, good enough yesterday and not good enough during controversy. 

Other Controversies in the Publishing Media, The Los Angeles Times
- Dean Baquet and the civic function of the major urban daily.
- David Hiller and Tribune Co. vs. Baquet and newsroom.