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Recommended Books
Academic Freedom in an Age of Conformity by Joanna Williams
Academic freedom is increasingly being threatened by a stifling culture of conformity in higher education that is restricting individual academics, the freedom of academic thought and the progress of knowledge - the very foundations upon which academia and universities are built. Once, scholars demanded academic freedom to critique existing knowledge and to pursue new truths. Today, while fondness for the rhetoric of academic freedom remains, it is increasingly criticised as an outdated and elitist concept by students and lecturers alike and called into question by a number of political and intellectual trends such as feminism, critical theory and identity politics. This provocative and compelling book traces the demise of academic freedom within the context of changing ideas about the purpose of the university and the nature of knowledge. The book argues that a challenge to this culture of conformity and censorship and a defence of academic free speech are needed for critique to be possible and for the intellectual project of evaluating existing knowledge and proposing new knowledge to be meaningful. This book is that challenge and a passionate call to arms for the power of academic thought today.
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9781137514790
Publication Date: 2016-01-05
Challenges to Freedom of Speech on College Campuses by House of Representatives, One Hundred Fifteenth Congress
"Well, trigger warnings, safe spaces, safe zones, shout-downs, microaggressions, bias response teams, and, as we saw from the video, even riots on campuses today. I want to thank you all for joining us in the audience and certainly our witnesses today. This is our second in a series of hearings to highlight the First Amendment. ''The history of intellectual growth and discovery clearly demonstrates the need for unfettered freedom, the right to think the unthinkable, discuss the unmentionable, and challenge the unchallengeable.'' That quote, taken from the 1974 Woodward Report at Yale, summarizes the policy that was for years the gold standard of what free speech on campus should look like. College is a place for young minds to be intellectually bombarded with new, challenging ideas. Unfortunately, today, on many campuses students and faculty are forced into self-censorship out of fear of triggering violating a safe space, a microaggression, or being targeted by a bias response team. Restricting speech that does not conform to popular opinion contradicts the First Amendment principles and the right to speak freely without regard to offensiveness. Shout-downs, disinvitations, and even violent rioting, as we saw on the video, are some of the tactics used to silence opposing views. In the most recent example of how not to promote free speech on campus, students and even faculty at Evergreen State College berated and threatened a professor for questioning why a new campus initiative could not be debated. The police eventually stepped in to warn the professor it was no longer safe -- think about this -- no longer safe for him to actually come to campus. The college administrators stood by and did nothing. In fact, when asked to come and defend their speech policies at today's hearing, Evergreen's president George Bridges refused to testify, suggesting such policies truly are indefensible. And he was not the only one to decline an invitation to defend the policies that limit speech and ideas on our college campuses. I see in this past academic year violent disruptions and silencing of opposing opinions are detrimental to an educational environment where students can learn and engage in civil discourse. This has serious ramifications for our public education system. This committee is committed to help colleges reinstate the freedom of speech as an important protection. After all, it is no coincidence that the Constitution's Framers prioritized the freedom of speech in the First, the First Amendment"--Part I, opening statement from Committee Chair Jim Jordan.
General Note Part I lacks numeric designation but constitutes the first part of the work.
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: GOVDOC : Y 4.G 74/7:115-30 GOVDOC : Y 4.G 74/7:115-105
Publication Date: 2017
Free Speech on Campus by Erwin Chemerinsky; Howard Gillman
Can free speech coexist with an inclusive campus environment? "An urgent and indispensable roadmap to guide us through one of the most divisive periods in American history."--Stephen Rohde, Los Angeles Review of Books Hardly a week goes by without another controversy over free speech on college campuses. On one side, there are increased demands to censor hateful, disrespectful, and bullying expression and to ensure an inclusive and nondiscriminatory learning environment. On the other side are traditional free speech advocates who charge that recent demands for censorship coddle students and threaten free inquiry. In this clear and carefully reasoned book, a university chancellor and a law school dean--both constitutional scholars who teach a course in free speech to undergraduates--argue that campuses must provide supportive learning environments for an increasingly diverse student body but can never restrict the expression of ideas. This book provides the background necessary to understanding the importance of free speech on campus and offers clear prescriptions for what colleges can and can't do when dealing with free speech controversies.
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9780300226560
Publication Date: 2017-09-12
Media Freedom As a Fundamental Right by Jan Oster
Domestic constitutions and courts applying international human rights conventions acknowledge the significance of the mass media for a democratic society, not only by granting special privileges but also by imposing enhanced duties and responsibilities to journalists and media companies. However, the challenges of media convergence, media ownership concentration and the internet have led to legal uncertainty. Should media privileges be maintained, and, if so, how is 'the media' to be defined? To what extent does media freedom as a legal concept also encompass bloggers who have not undertaken journalistic education? And how can a legal distinction be drawn between investigative journalism on the one hand and reporting on purely private matters on the other? To answer these questions, Jan Oster combines doctrinal and conceptual comparative analysis with descriptive and normative theory, and argues in favour of a media freedom principle based on the significance of the media for public discourse.
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9781107098954
Publication Date: 2015-05-28
Power of Protest by Sourcebooks
A combination of current events and proud history, The Power of Protestreviews all of the protests that have shaped our society, as well as those at work RIGHT NOW at reshaping the system. Includes beautiful photography alongside current resources for you to continue to fight the injustices that remain in our culture -- The Power of Protestwill inspire you to be the change you wish to see in the world! Times of great change did not occur by man's desire for change. They were fought for, battled into being, through protest and persistence. As we continue to push for justice, rights we now take for granted were born through protests like those we are waging today. The true impact of activism may not be felt for a generation but that alone is a reason to fight rather than forfeit our freedoms. Looking to our history, the peoples history, we can see how society was shaped by those citizens who refused to give up. How do we want to pick up their mantle? Organized by cause, in an oversized package with photographs and timelines that chronicles protests throughout our global history -- you'll find information on modern movements that you can get involved in, the stories and origins of those causes, as well as inspirational quotes from leaders and scholars throughout. Activists and those interested in activism can read about the fight for equal rights of all races, all sexes, all genders...and explore how their cause has shaped the world. What did the journey look like from the women's right to vote to modern feminism? What was the path taken by race activists as they changed history, from abolitionists to black lives matter? This visual history covers all aspectsof protests that shaped our society, including: The Fight for Women's Rights The Fight for Race Rights The Fight for Gay (LGBTQ+) Rights The Fight for Peace & Freedom The Fight for Worker's Rights Specific modern causes such as Gun Violence (responses and protests from Columbine to Parkland) and more... As Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9781492660347
Publication Date: 2018-09-04
Unsafe Space: The Crisis of Free Speech on Campus by Tom Slater (Editor)
The academy is in crisis. Students call for speakers to be banned, books to be slapped with trigger warnings and university to be a Safe Space, free of offensive words or upsetting ideas. But as tempting as it is to write off intolerant students as a generational blip, or a science experiment gone wrong, they've been getting their ideas from somewhere. Bringing together leading journalists, academics and agitators from the US and UK, Unsafe Space is a wake-up call. From the war on lad culture to the clampdown on climate sceptics, we need to resist all attempts to curtail free speech on campus. But society also needs to take a long, hard look at itself. Our inability to stick up for our founding, liberal values, to insist that the free exchange of ideas should always be a risky business, has eroded free speech from within.
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9781137587862
Publication Date: 2016-04-13