As part of Worcester State’s 150th anniversary celebration, the Office of Academic Affairs will present “Free Speech: Myth and Reality,” a round table discussion, from 10 to 11:15 a.m. on Thursday, November 14, in Eager Auditorium.
The event will feature faculty experts including Nathan Angelo, associate professor of political science; Erika Briesacher, professor of history; Charlotte Haller, professor of history; Carter Hardy, assistant professor of philosophy; Matt Ortoleva, professor of English; Jamie Remillard, associate professor of English; and Cleve Wiese, associate professor of English. The roundtable discussion will be followed by a Q&A with the audience.
“Freedom of speech is always a timely topic, as our understanding of the Constitution evolves and as we encounter experiences that challenge that evolving understanding,” Russ Pottle, dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, said. “But it’s especially timely in an election year that includes speech addressing the highest-level national races all the way down to local ballot initiatives.”
Henry C. Theriault, associate provost, said that it’s striking how poorly informed many people in the United States are about the laws around freedom of speech, including the lines between speech that is protected and speech that is not.
“It is a problem that many people treat freedom of speech as an absolute, no matter what is said. It is just as much a problem that some people try to limit expression of viewpoints that are not violations of free speech laws but are simply viewpoints they don’t like,” he said. “We are seeing this now with politically motivated efforts to ban various books, books that one might not like or agree are valuable but are not violating the rules of free expression.”
Free speech is a subject that Theriault has done a lot of research and writing on, especially as it relates to genocide, a topic on which he is an internationally recognized expert.
“There should be clear boundaries, and people who harm others through speech should be held responsible,” he said. “I have argued that genocide denial increases the impact of genocidal violence and thus does objective, material, not merely subjective, harm. I view racist, misogynistic, homophobic, anti-immigrant, and other hate speech as doing the same—as increasing the harms done by previous violence and oppression—and so those who make this kind of speech are liable for the harm they are doing.” Theriault said he hopes there will be a lively discussion about these issues as well as a variety of other views on free speech.
Pottle said it’s important for public institutions of higher education to lead this important discussion, as they should be primary voices in the public square. “We hope many in the Worcester State community will be able to attend this event and the coming events that Academic Affairs is organizing this academic year in celebration of the university’s 150th anniversary,” Pottle said. “These are the kinds of events that help define and celebrate us as a university.”
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