The right to know: How does censorship affect academics? | Robert Quinn

- Academic freedom is what makes a university space work as a setting to develop students' capacities. It is the permission to think freely, and have contrarian discussions, that leads to new insights.

- There are whole zones of knowledge that we never get to because of intimidation put on academics: "We simply don't know what we haven't even thought to ask."

- Self-censorship, especially regarding sensitive topics, is the dark matter of the academic freedom universe. Out of fear of being attacked, or their families being harmed, some journalists and scholars will forego publishing their findings.

The opinions expressed in this video do not necessarily reflect the views of the Charles Koch Foundation, which encourages the expression of diverse viewpoints within a culture of civil discourse and mutual respect.

Robert Quinn is a human rights advocate, lawyer, lecturer, writer and founding executive director of Scholars at Risk, an international network of more than 500 higher education institutions and thousands of individuals in 39 countries dedicated to protecting at-risk scholars, promoting academic freedom, and defending everyone’s freedom to think, question and share ideas.

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