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Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social issues > Ethical issues & debates > Censorship
Academic freedom is under siege, as our universities become the
sites of increasingly fraught battles over freedom of speech. While
much of the public debate has focussed on 'no platforming' by
students, this overlooks the far graver threat posed by concerted
efforts to silence the critical voices of both academics and
students, through the use of bureaucracy, legal threats and online
harassment. Such tactics have conspicuously been used, with
particularly virulent effect, in an attempt to silence academic
criticism of Israel. This collection uses the controversies
surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a means of
exploring the limits placed on academic freedom in a variety of
different national contexts. It looks at how the increased
neoliberalisation of higher education has shaped the current
climate, and considers how academics and their universities should
respond to these new threats. Bringing together new and established
scholars from Palestine and the wider Middle East as well as the US
and Europe, Enforcing Silence shows us how we can and must defend
our universities as places for critical thinking and free
expression.
This book demonstrates how people were kept ignorant by censorship
and indoctrinated by propaganda. Censorship suppressed all
information that criticized the army and government, that might
trouble the population or weaken its morale. Propaganda at home
emphasized the superiority of the fatherland, explained setbacks by
blaming scapegoats, vilified and ridiculed the enemy, warned of the
disastrous consequences of defeat and extolled duty and sacrifice.
The propaganda message also infiltrated entertainment and the
visual arts. Abroad it aimed to demoralize enemy troops and stir up
unrest among national minorities and other marginalized groups. The
many illustrations and organograms provide a clear visual
demonstration of Demm's argument.
Following the dramatic events of July 2016, the global spotlight
has fallen on Turkey's increasingly authoritarian government, led
by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. International observers fear the
attempted coup has given Erdogan, already known for his attacks on
press freedom, an excuse to further suppress all opposition.In
November 2015, Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of the national
Cumhuriyet newspaper, was arrested on charges of espionage, helping
a terrorist organisation, trying to topple the government and
revealing state secrets. His transgression? Publishing photographic
evidence of a highly illegal covert arms shipment by the Turkish
secret service to radical Islamist organisations fighting
government forces in Syria - a crime that was in the government's
interest to conceal, and a journalist's duty to expose.Arraigned by
the President himself, who called for Dundar to receive two life
sentences, he was held in solitary confinement in Turkey's Silivri
Prison for three months while awaiting trial.We Are Arrested is
Dundar's enthralling account of the newspaper's decision to publish
and the events that unfolded as a result - including would-be
suicide bombings, assassination attempts and fierce attacks from
pro-government media - as well as the time he served behind bars
for defending the public's right to know.
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