Academic Freedom and Catholic Higher Education

(Hardback)

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In recent decades, as the question of academic freedom within Catholic higher education has received greater attention, models and interpretations of academic freedom have been proposed to help Catholic colleges and universities deal with the issue. James Annarelli contends, however, that present Catholic interpretations place unnecessary constraints on these institutions and are inadequate in many other ways. In his study he offers a critical analysis of both Catholic and secular modes of academic freedom and frames a set of criteria applicable to Catholic institutions, while advancing pertinent insights on the issue as a whole.

Reviews

The modern catholic university is the topic of Professor Annarelli's splendid book. Specifically he tackles the prickly issue of academic freedom and Catholic higher learning in the United States. . . . Annarelli's forceful defense of academic freedom is a spirited contribution to the current debate over the nature and limits of theological dissent on the campuses of American Catholic colleges and universities. It is also a bold challenge to the stewards of American Catholic higher education to resist any effort by ecclesiastical figures to garner control over the internal affairs of Catholic colleges and universities.-History of Education Quarterly
This useful book by James John Annarelli a theologian at St. John's University in New York, meets the need for an accurate and well-documented overview of academic freedom in Catholic higher education. It is a fine summary for educators and church officials who would benefit from a quick, but informative discussion of this complex issue and its implications for Catholic colleges and universities in the United States. Those who have not followed the burgeoning research on academic freedom and Catholic higher education will profit from Annarelli's fine survey of American Catholic higher learning the history of academic freedom, and relevant theological issues. . . . Educators and church officials will also profit from Annarelli's concise, but informative description of the two major approaches to academic freedom proposed by American scholars. Academic Freedom and Catholic Higher Education deserves a wide audience. Given the commitment of most American educators, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, to the principles of academic freedom and the Vatican's effort to limit this freedom, tension seems inevitable. In this context, Annarelli's lucid book is indeed timely and immensely useful.-Journal of Higher Education
"The modern catholic university is the topic of Professor Annarelli's splendid book. Specifically he tackles the prickly issue of academic freedom and Catholic higher learning in the United States. . . . Annarelli's forceful defense of academic freedom is a spirited contribution to the current debate over the nature and limits of theological dissent on the campuses of American Catholic colleges and universities. It is also a bold challenge to the stewards of American Catholic higher education to resist any effort by ecclesiastical figures to garner control over the internal affairs of Catholic colleges and universities."-History of Education Quarterly
"This useful book by James John Annarelli a theologian at St. John's University in New York, meets the need for an accurate and well-documented overview of academic freedom in Catholic higher education. It is a fine summary for educators and church officials who would benefit from a quick, but informative discussion of this complex issue and its implications for Catholic colleges and universities in the United States. Those who have not followed the burgeoning research on academic freedom and Catholic higher education will profit from Annarelli's fine survey of American Catholic higher learning the history of academic freedom, and relevant theological issues. . . . Educators and church officials will also profit from Annarelli's concise, but informative description of the two major approaches to academic freedom proposed by American scholars. Academic Freedom and Catholic Higher Education deserves a wide audience. Given the commitment of most American educators, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, to the principles of academic freedom and the Vatican's effort to limit this freedom, tension seems inevitable. In this context, Annarelli's lucid book is indeed timely and immensely useful."-Journal of Higher Education

Author Bio

JAMES JOHN ANNARELLI former Assistant Professor of Theology at St. John's University, New York, is Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Students at Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida.