<i>"The Chicago Canon on Free Inquiry and Expression</i> is a thorough and thought-provoking history of free expression at the University of Chicago. While the compendium documents the centrality of free expression from its founding to the present day, it is far more than static and documentary. Rather, this dynamic and evolving treatise provides a theoretical approach to free expression on college campuses today and clarifies the responsibility of the academy to encourage and stimulate the life of the mind and its courageous expression in all its many forms."<br />
- Roslyn Clark Artis, President of Benedict College,
"This inspiring collection of carefully reasoned and eloquently phrased writings is a must-read for all members of all academic communities and for everyone else who is interested in the timeless and timely topics of academic freedom and free speech. The volume is a treasure trove of pertinent materials, each with enlightening introductory annotations. An unwavering commitment to open inquiry infuses the whole compendium, and <i>The Chicago Canon</i> invites reading, discussion, and debate on every campus that is—or should be—pursuing and implementing its own policies and practices to promote intellectual freedom."<br />
- Nadine Strossen, author of Free Speech: What Everyone Needs to Know®,
"I was so fortunate to spend what were easily the two most intellectually formative years of my life at the University of Chicago, as a postdoctoral researcher based in the Committee on Human Development. I often say I got my degrees elsewhere but my true education from the University of Chicago. This university is unlike any other in the degree to which it has constantly articulated and reflected upon its purpose, always seeking to remain true to it in spite of the inevitable periodic hurricanes of political pressure that tried to blow it off course. <i>The Chicago Canon on Free Inquiry and Expression</i> tells the story of how this great university’s first principle of free inquiry and expression came to be. The documents collected in this volume will inspire anyone who cares about the future of universities, which should be everyone, because Chicago is one of the few schools that has come through the recurring and contemporary periods of unrest with its fundamental commitments and stature enhanced. The University of Chicago is a beacon for universities around the world, and this book explains why."<br />
- Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation,
“There is no force more potent than a free and unfettered imagination. Creating the conditions that support and protect this freedom is the closest thing, in our secular age, to a sacred charge. It is the first principle of advance in human knowledge, social justice, and creativity writ large. This vibrant, principled, inspiring compendium is a testament to the University of Chicago's fundamental commitment to free expression. The lessons here abound for students, scholars, artists, and citizens alike.”<br />
- Ayad Akhtar, Pulitzer-prize winning novelist and playwright,
“<i>The Chicago Canon on Free Inquiry and Expression</i> is a timely contribution to the contemporary conversation (and debate) about the role of intellectual freedom and free speech in an increasingly divided society. The Canon’s publication comes during a period of an alarming rise in book censorship, growing encumberment of academic freedom, and new levels of participation in and policing of campus speech, and provides invaluable insight into the necessary evolution of thinking on free inquiry and expression at one of the most influential institutions of higher learning in the country.”
- Tracie D. Hall, University of Washington Information School and former executive director of the American Library Association,