Speculative, slow, and critical research also constitutes legitimate knowledge production

This article offers a theoretically grounded and personally reflective account of how academic freedom is increasingly constrained by neoliberal logics in higher education, particularly within the Danish context. Focusing on the delegitimization of critical, Marxist, and normative research, it explores how institutional pressures, such as demands for impact, efficiency, and neutrality, produce subtle forms of self-censorship and restrict scholarly autonomy. Drawing on thinkers like Horkheimer, Giroux, Harding, Weber, and Connell, the paper argues that critical inquiry is essential for sustaining the university as a democratic public good. It calls for the protection and recognition of slower, speculative, and transformative research traditions that challenge dominant paradigms and envision emancipatory educational futures.