Freedom for history? The case against memory laws
Josie Appleton talks to Pierre Nora and Olivier Salvatori of the Liberté pour l’Histoire initiative in France.
Mustn’t ask, mustn’t tell
Data protection laws now touch everyone’s lives and those living within the EU are about to have their regulations updated, writes David Erdos. These proposed laws are overly restrictive: the time has come to take a stand for those working in research.
Scholarly publication in (slow) transition to open access
Academic ‘open access’ journals make articles freely available and the dissemination of knowledge and citation easier. However, the pace of change is slow, writes Cristobal Cobo.
Open Access Academic Journals: Go for Gold?
The world of academic publishing stands at a crossroads with public institutions demanding open access to publicly funded research. Dominic Burbidge explores the difficulties that stand in the way.
Free but not able?
Literacy is the fundamental building block for any society of free speech, evidenced not just in grand statistics but in the lives of those most in need. Dominic Burbidge reports.
Enabling internet access in Mexico
Aleph Molinari, founder of Fundación Proacceso ECO, speaks to Brian Pellot about why his Mexico-based non-profit organisation promotes information and communication technologies for development and why the internet should be considered a basic right.
Egypt’s one-way traffic in books
Historian Khaled Fahmy describes how historic Egyptian books are more easily found in Western than in Egyptian libraries - and how a scholarly history of the Middle East was recently banned from entering Egypt.
India’s textbook cartoon affair
In May 2012, India's parliament withdrew a series of school textbooks that contained a political cartoon some MPs considered denigrating. Antoon De Baets discusses whether reputation, rights and public morals should ever trump educational free speech.
Should journalists need a diploma?
Brazil’s Supreme Court renewed a law that requires journalists to hold a university degree in journalism. A currently discussed Amendment to the Constitution could further restrict the country’s media writes Felipe Correa.
Jytte Klausen on Yale University and the Danish cartoons
Professor Jytte Klausen analyses and criticises Yale University Press's decision to remove images of Muhammad from her scholarly book on the Danish cartoons controversy.
Online language bubbles: the last frontier?
Scott A Hale explores the effect of language in seeking and imparting information on the broader web.
Free speech in an unfair world
Free Speech Debate's 10 draft principles benefit those in positions of privilege and power, writes Sebastian Huempfer.
A day in the life of a climate scientist
A senior advisor to German Chancellor Angela Merkel says it is only a matter of time before a climate scientist is killed, writes Maryam Omidi.
Non-state censorship in modern-day India
At an event in Oxford in 2011, three Indian scholars called on OUP India to re-publish an essay which had been denounced by Hindu extremists. Less than two weeks later, the publisher reversed its earlier decision not to re-publish.
Vikipedi makalelerinin dağılımı
The distribution of knowledge on Wikipedia shows vast geographical inequalities, according to research from the Oxford Internet Institute.
Teaching creationism in US schools
A new Tennessee law will permit teachers to discuss creationism alongside theories of evolution, writes Casey Selwyn.
Raising a “religious youth” in Turkey
A new law allowing parents to send their children to Islamic schools at an earlier age has polarized Turkish society, write İrem Kök and Funda Üstek.
Kurdish in Turkey, Turkish in Bulgaria
Kerem Öktem compares how the governments of Bulgaria and Turkey treat the language rights of their most important minorities.
The principles should affirm the public’s right to information held by public bodies
Sandra Coliver, senior legal officer at the Open Society Justice Initiative, says the right to information is essential for freedom of expression.
