Overview

The American university―one of the most successful institutions in human history―is facing an unprecedented assault from the president of the US. Experts on authoritarianism have drawn comparisons to other countries where strongmen subdued universities as part of their power grabs. Yet as former Columbia president Lee C. Bollinger points out in his account of the university's significance, in such dire times one has no choice but to state clearly and forcefully what one stands for. Bollinger reveals how the structure of the university contributes to the success of the American system―because it provides those who study and work within it a degree of creative freedom hard to find elsewhere―and why that structure is both impossible to recreate and vulnerable to outside attack. The fundamental mission of the university is to enhance knowledge, but this is not merely a high-minded idea. It is, as Bollinger demonstrates, a notion rooted deeply in the Constitution, specifically the First Amendment, the basis of our political and social life. The university helps realize the First Amendment; the First Amendment helps make the university. Bollinger argues that, with the press diminished, the university remains the only source of truth-seeking for those who still believe in democracy. The university must be defended if the American experiment is to continue.

Full Product Details

9798228778498

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Lee C. Bollinger is an American legal scholar and educator who served as the nineteenth president of Columbia University, from 2002 to 2023. He is currently president emeritus and the Seth Low Professor of the University. He also served as the president of the University of Michigan from 1997 to 2002. A renowned expert on the First Amendment and freedom of speech and press, he lives in New York City. Malcolm Hillgartner has narrated over 175 audiobooks. He was named an AudioFile Best Voice of 2013. His work ranges from children's titles such as On the Blue Comet (AudioFile Best of 2011, Earphones), and Neal Stevenson's sci-fi epic REAMDE (Audible.com Best of 2011) to the biographies Kissinger (AudioFile Best of 2013, Earphones) and Cheever (AudioFile Best of 2009, Earphones). He is also an accomplished actor, writer, and musician. With his wife and partner, Jahnna Beecham, he has written over 130 books for teens and young readers, as well as the musicals Chaps! and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Musical, which have been produced in the U.S. and Canada.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available