An introduction to debates about freedom of expression. What is 'freedom of speech'? Is there a right to say anything? Why? We will investigate who has had this right, where and why, and what it has had to do in particular with politics and culture. What powers does speech have, and for what? Debates about censorship, dissidence and protest, hate speech, the First Amendment and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be obvious starting points, but we will also explore some less obvious questions: about faith and the secular, the rights of minorities, migration, surveillance, speaking and political agency, law and politics, social media, and the force(s) of words. In asking about the status of the speaking human subject, we will look at the ways in which the subject of rights, and indeed the thought of human rights itself, derives from an experience of claiming, speaking and speaking up. These questions will be examined, if not answered, across a variety of philosophical, legal, journalistic, and political texts, with a heavy dose of case studies (many of them happening right now) and readings in contemporary critical and legal theory.
This course is not offered every semester. If your campus is offering the course, visit your institutions' course registration site to enroll.
KYRGYZSTAN
American University of Central Asia
Freedom of Speech
US
Bard College
LIT/HR 218 Free Speech
LITHUANIA
European Humanities University
Freedom of Expression
Bard College
European Humanities University
American University of Central Asia