First Amendment Commons^™

The Book I Never Got To Read: A Tale Of Book Censorship, Courtney Everett

Emerging Writers

From the expression of authors to sharing perceptions of the world, the use of literature has been one of the most common ways of teaching students for generations. However, with opposing viewpoints and conflicting ideas, literary censorship has continued to become an issue among communities for longer than people realize, and it brings harm to humanity over time. This essay discusses the recent conflict of banning books in communities and its affect on students.

Censorship Of Rock And Roll, Meaghan Curtin

Emerging Writers

This short essay explores the history of censorship of rock and roll music.

Whose Market Is It Anyway? A Philosophy And Law Critique Of The Supreme Court’S Free-Speech Absolutism, Spencer Bradley

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

In the wake of Charlottesville, the rise of the alt-right, and campus controversies, the First Amendment has fallen into public scrutiny. Historically, the First Amendment’s “marketplace of ideas” has been a driving source of American political identity; since Brandenburg v. Ohio, the First Amendment protects all speech from government interference unless it causes incitement. The marketplace of ideas allows for the good and the bad ideas to enter American society and ultimately allows the people to decide their own course.

Yet, is the First Amendment truly a tool of social progress? Initially, the First Amendment curtailed war-time dissidents and …

We’Ve Come A Long Way (Baby)! Or Have We? Evolving Intellectual Freedom Issues In The Us And Florida, L. Bryan Cooper, A.D. Beman-Cavallaro

Works of the FIU Libraries

This paper analyzes a shifting landscape of intellectual freedom (IF) in and outside Florida for children, adolescents, teens and adults. National ideals stand in tension with local and state developments, as new threats are visible in historical, legal, and technological context. Examples include doctrinal shifts, legislative bills, electronic surveillance and recent attempts to censor books, classroom texts, and reading lists.

Privacy rights for minors in Florida are increasingly unstable. New assertions of parental rights are part of a larger conservative animus. Proponents of IF can identify a lessening of ideals and standards that began after doctrinal fruition in the 1960s …

Ethical Decision Making: Balancing The Rights And Needs Of Stakeholders, Sarah Becker

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

No abstract provided.