Free Speech

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This week’s topic is on free speech.

Free speech is considered an important freedom to many people. What do we mean we talk about free speech? Is it under threat at universities? Is free speech a legitimate reason to be discriminatory?

Campus Free Speech Law ‘Likely To Have Opposite Effect’ – Richard Adams, The Guardian [article, 3 mins]
‘Decolonising’ Universities Threatens Our Academic Freedom, Argue Professors – Sidney Pycroft, the boar [article, 3 mins]
Noam Chomsky Stumps Andrew Marr, Bypass Mainstream Media [video, 3 mins]
‘Naked Intimidation’: How Universities Silence Academics On Social Media – Tess Reidy, The Guardian [article, 6 mins]
The “Free Speech Debate” Isn’t Really About Free Speech – Zack Beauchamp, Vox [article, 18 mins]
Free Speech At Universities – Moral Maze, BBC Radio 4 [audio, 43 mins]

Facilitation Notes

Discussion Questions

Is free speech at universities really under threat?
Should universities take on the responsibility of de-platforming groups or individuals with potentially harmful ideologies?
At what point does censorship become unacceptable?
Should universities be able to control what their staff say on social media?
How legitimate is “cancel culture”?
Who gets to decide what is allowed to be said?

Resource Personalisation

You could include resources on free speech in your university, such as policy documents or recent relevant news articles.

Topic:

Free Speech

materials

Facilitation Notes

Culture Club.