The Ohio University Constitution Day Lecture features Dr. Sigal Ben-Porath discussing “Free Speech on Campus” on Thursday, Sept. 27, at 5 p.m. at the Athena Cinema on Court Street.
Ben-Porath is Professor of Literacy, Culture, and International Education Division at the University of Pennsylvania. Ben-Porath has been teaching at Penn Graduate School of Education since 2004. She is an executive committee member of the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy and chairs the faculty advisory board for Penn Press. From 2012-2013 she was affiliated with the Safra Center for Ethics at Tel Aviv University, where she earned a doctorate in political philosophy. She is currently an associate member of the political science and philosophy departments at Penn.
Abstract: Over the last few years many campuses became embroiled in free speech controversies. Speaker invitations canceled at Swarthmore and Rutgers, fires set by protesters at Berkeley, physical fights at Middlebury—It seems that no campus is safe from this new phase of the culture wars. In her recent book titled Free Speech on Campus (University of Pennsylvania Press 2017), Ben-Porath suggests that campuses need to reaffirm their commitment to free speech and to inclusion and to be clear about how both are tightly related to colleges and universities’ core mission.
When speech events flare into the media, they are often inaccurately portrayed and as a result cannot be effectively prevented or addressed. Clarifying the background of the current tensions as well as the key demands presented by students and scholars, Ben-Porath offers inclusive freedom as a framework for understanding current speech tensions and for responding to them in the classroom, in students’ social associations and clubs, and in public events on campus.
The event is sponsored by Center for Law, Justice & Culture, the Making and Breaking the Law theme, and the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost.
Dr. Sigal Ben-Porath. Photo courtesy of University of Pennsylvania
Meet and Greet with Sigan Ben-Porath
The Center for Law, Justice & Culture also hosts a Meet and Greet with Ben-Porath on Thursday, Sept. 27, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Bentley Annex 007.
Ben-Porath will discuss her expertise on free speech. Pizza will be served.
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