In 2016, Concordia University anthropology professor Homa Hoodfar was arrested in Iran while conducting research on feminism and security matters. During her 112 days in prison, Hoodfar reflected on the state of academic freedom and the factors that continue to lead to the imprisonment and abuse of her colleagues globally.

In a speech she gave at the 2017 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, and later published by Policy Options, professor Hoodfar argued that academic freedom ought to be recognized as a transnational right by governments everywhere. Doing so would go a long way toward the protection of academics and their contribution to the common good. Professor Hoodfar stopped by our podcast to explain what this would entail.

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