Curriculum
Drawing on the Free Speech Tracker and other resources, the Free Speech Project has developed two sets of Free Speech Modules: one that can be used in college and university and advanced high school classes as a basis for discussion of the complexities of the debates over Free Speech in the United States today; and the other in orientation programs for students new to higher education, or as the basis for community forums.
Our hope is that by collecting and organizing these resources thematically, we will enable faculty and students to deepen their understanding of the myriad issues related to Free Speech in tense political and cultural times. The modules include audio, video, and photographic components from a variety of establishment and new media sources.
Are you using the curriculum modules? We would love to hear from you. Please fill out this short survey or reach out to us at freespeechproject@georgetown.edu.
Explore our Free Speech Tracker
The Free Speech Tracker is an online tool for monitoring Free Speech challenges and controversies across the United States in education, civil society, and government.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Check out our Free Speech Modules
Entries from the Free Speech Tracker have been combined with other resources to produce modules that enhance discussion of Free Speech issues in college, university, and high school settings, as well as community forums.
Background Reading
Freedom for the Thought That We Hate: A Biography of the First Amendment, Anthony Lewis; Basic Books, 2007; paperback, 2009- The Soul of the First Amendment, Floyd Abrams; Yale University Press, 2017
- On Liberty chapter 2 and chapter 4, John Stuart Mill
- There’s No Such Thing as Free Speech, and It’s a Good Thing, Too, Stanley Fish; Oxford University Press, 1994
The Papers & The Papers: An Account of the Legal and Political Battle over the Pentagon Papers (Third Edition), Sanford J. Ungar; Columbia University Press, 1989
Themes
The entries on the Free Speech Tracker can be classified into many themes, including the 12 listed below; most entries relate to several different themes. Click on one of these themes to bring up a page that explores the theme in more detail and offers a list of related Tracker entries.