Reflections on the threat to academic freedom with a special focus on digital education .

In view of some recent cases, the concern that certain opinions have become unspeakable seems to be well  founded. This is perceived as an actual violation of scientific freedom – regardless of whether restrictions have also been imposed on the search for knowledge. For this reason, this paper considers a threat to scientific freedom where undesirable developments become apparent. Based on an analysis by SCHIMANK (2021), which mainly discusses the threat to research, this paper focuses on teaching. It is subdivided into four sections: an explanation of the protection of teaching freedom, with comments on digital teaching; an examination of freedom in the teaching-earning relationship; a discussion of the importance of conversations and dialogical relations; and finally, a critical examination of the structural arrangement of the intermediary spaces in which the scientific community moves in both the analog and the digital realms, including their figuration. This ultimately makes a strong case for redefining freedom of teaching as a guaranteed right.