Prof. Dr. Julian Hamann

The talk reveals how German universities function as collective "discursive spaces" for academic freedom amid debates often framed as "cancel culture." Drawing on a representative survey of 9,083 full-time academics across 158 institutions in mid-2024, the study employed vignettes on four controversial issues – gender-sensitive language in exams, civil clauses in military research, the Middle East conflict, and explanations for crime rates of immigrant groups – to assess expectations for institutional responses. Descriptive analyses reveal that, rather than favoring passive or coercive stances, a broad majority of respondents across disciplines, status groups, and genders endorse universities to facilitate a discursive space for controversial issues. However, when state authorities threaten autonomy by mandating or banning military research clauses, respondents exhibit lower confidence in campus deliberation and greater support for legal action. The analyses also reveal that political orientation shapes preferred modes of engagement: left-leaning academics more readily back their universities to mobilize deliberative measures (e.g., committees, public forums), while right-leaning academics are comparatively less inclined to mobilize such avenues. The findings challenge individualistic conceptions of academic freedom, highlighting its collective negotiation within the academic community as well as the administrative framework of the university. By shedding light on both enabling and constraining institutional dynamics, the study contributes a nuanced empirical perspective to debates on academic citizenship, institutional resilience, and the conditions under which universities cultivate or curtail academic freedom.

Julian Hamann is a sociologist and junior professor of higher education research at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. His research combines sociological science studies and higher education research. It is concerned with academic careers and disciplinary cultures, as well as processes of evaluation and social inequality. Current research projects investigate the postdoctoral career stage, disciplinary differences in the funding of high-risk research, and the state of – and discourse about – academic freedom in Germany.