A new-termly debate series is set to be launched by Oxford University, in an aim to curb “same thinking tribes.”
The University’s vice-chancellor Prof Irene Tracey, said that freedom of speech was “the lifeblood” of the university.
Starting in November, the new Sheldonian Series of debates will allow students “to hear from scholars and voices from a range of fields on some of the big questions of our age.”
It comes after gender-critical academic Kathleen Stock was hit with student protests over her planned appearance at the Oxford Union.
Oxford University’s vice-chancellor Prof Irene Tracey, said that freedom of speech was “the lifeblood” of the university
PA
The opening debate will discuss the theme of democracy, and will take place shortly after the US election on November 5 The guest speakers are yet to be announced.
Professor Tracey told the annual oration to staff and students: “The spirit of these events will be one of examination and exploration, of curiosity and challenge. It is clear we need to reaffirm the importance of free and inclusive speech, diversity of thought and vibrant exchange of ideas.”
The debates could be the first major test of current free speech laws after the Government pulled the plug on new protections for academics.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson announced in July that she had paused the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act just days before it was due to come into force and would now consider repealing it.
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People protest in Oxford where Professor Kathleen Stock, who quit her job as a lecturer at the University of Sussex after being targeted by activists over her views on gender identity, is due to speak
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In May 2023, police were forced to remove protesters who stormed a talk by Professor Stock, with activists chanting “no more dead trans kids.”
Two further protesters handed out flyers stating “Kathleen Stock is not welcome here” and “we will not let the trans youth of the future suffer as we have”, before they were booed out of the venue by audience members also calling for “free speech.”
Professor Stock argued the Union that some universities were “becoming propaganda machines for a particular point of view.”
She said she did not find it “traumatic” to have protesters outside the event and said that students in her generation staged similar protests.
People protest in Oxford before the appearance of Professor Kathleen Stock
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Speaking on Tuesday, Prof Tracey said: “Freedom of speech is the lifeblood of our university and we uphold the right for everyone to openly express their views and opinions with respect and courtesy, within the limits of the law.
“As a university, we must nurture and celebrate our differences, confident that those who try to divide us into same-looking and same-thinking tribes, whether by selfish design or accidental algorithm, will ultimately fail.
“Let us all dare to be different, to do things differently, and to bring forward the day that the world remembers the beauty of the kaleidoscope of humanity.”