Shabnam Sadeghi
Introduction
Over the last century, the number of students enrolled at universities has increased dramatically, going from 500 000 in the year 1900 to about 100 million in 2000 (Huber, 2016, p. 90). From a historical perspective, students have been the driving force for maintaining democracy, and have initiated political movements regarding, for example, civil rights, feminism, antiracism, and environmental protection (Hitland, Nielsen & Refstie, 2019, p. 237). In a time of increasing social inequality, fatal climate changes, and indications of growing political polarization, it is vital to discuss how students today are participating in discussions regarding controversial topics. This includes acknowledging and examining the effects of the growing trends of safe spaces and trigger warnings. This contributes to understanding how these issues will develop further, and if the current situation really is beneficial to students in developing critical thinking, maintaining student activism, and attempting to solve societal issues. This topic is especially relevant in these times because recently there have been several examples of lecturers experiencing vocational consequences for their statements in multiple countries. I will illustrate two examples to show the relevance of the topic and paint a picture of the situation. The first is a UCLA professor who was suspended for his email response to a student who requested that he’d postpone the final exam for African-American students due to George Floyd’s death earlier that year (CBS Los Angeles, 2020). A quite challenging email-response was sent, containing “Are there any students that may be of mixed parentage, such as half black-half Asian? What do you suggest I do with respect to them?” and “I am thinking that a white student from there might be possibly even more devastated by this, especially because some might think that they’re racist even if they are not.” (CBS Los Angeles, 2020). The professor was accused of writing a “woefully racist response” (CBS Los Angeles, 2020). Another similar incident was the so-called “Germans joke”, in which a psychology professor in Bergen, Norway made a joke about German
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tourists, referencing the German invasion during World War II and them “returning” to Norway (Lie, 2020). The university management submitted an apology to the student on behalf of the professor without his consent, which provoked him and many other supporters (Lie, 2020). In this study, students’ relationship with controversial topics and the premises for difficult discussions in universities will be examined, as well as students’ perspectives on the use of safe spaces and limitations regarding academic freedom. The research question is as follows: What are students’ views on discussion premises in higher education and their influence on universities’ societal role? As mentioned earlier, universities are the hotspot when it comes to activism related to social and political issues, and therefore it is necessary to shed light on different viewpoints concerning the topics in question in order to reflect on the development of universities as a cultural and societal institution. On the basis of a survey I will explore a variety of student perspectives on the relevant topics and try to provide an overview of the current attitudes and opinions which are shaping higher education. First there will be a background chapter which clarifies terms of relevance, as well as the historical context. Then the methodology used to explore the research question will be presented and discussed. Here, it is necessary to take factors such as the participants’ residing countries’ level of democracy and liberalism as well as gender into account. In the analysis and discussion, the data will be presented, taking into account factors such as the participants’ residing countries’ level of democracy and liberalism as well as gender. It will then be used to discuss how beneficial it is to increase cautiousness in discussions involving vulnerable participants, and including safe spaces in higher education when the purpose is to encourage critical and independent thinking.
