S01E03: Hannah McGregor on Academic Freedom
Our guest for episode three of the Ways of Knowing podcast is Hannah McGregor, an Assistant Professor at Simon Fraser University’s Publishing Program and host of the Secret Feminist Agenda Podcast.
In October of 2019, Hannah co-authored an open letter that was signed by almost 1,500 people to cancel a controversial SFU panel discussion titled “How Media Bias Shapes the Gender Identity Debate.” SFU didn’t cancel the event, citing its commitment to academic freedom. But the event was relocated to a hotel in downtown Vancouver due to perceived security concerns.
Hannah joins us today to talk about the concept and practice of academic freedom, especially as it affects, for better or worse, public conversations around complex and emotionally charged issues.
Stay tuned for episode four, a conversation with 2019 Wall Scholar Tara Mayer (History, UBC), a historian of South Asia whose scholarship traces material and aesthetic exchanges between India, Britain, and France in ways that blur the boundaries of her discipline.
Listen to episode three below, and make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
The Peter Wall Institute is proud to present the Ways of Knowing podcast. Join Kalina Christoff, a Professor of Psychology at UBC and Interim Director of the Peter Wall Institute, as she explores how scholars and artists think about their areas of expertise and beyond. You can find all of our episodes here.
Links to videos and articles mentioned in this episode:
Ahmed, S. (2016). An Affinity of Hammers. TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly
Critical Thinking Series debate hosted by the Rational Space Network at Mount Royal University in Calgary, AB. Panelists addressed the question: Does Trans Activism Negatively Impact Women’s Rights?
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