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Dangerous speech

12 May 2017, 9:00 am–6:00 pm

Free Speech

Event Information

Open to

All

Organiser

Institute of Law, Politics and Philosophy

Location

UCL Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre, Wilkins Building, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT

Speakers include (full list below)

Jeremy Waldron (Law, NYU)
Corey Brettschneider (Political Science, Brown)
Timothy Garton Ash (History, Oxford)

Series

Institute of Law, Politics and Philosophy

Freedom of expression is once again under fire. We live in an era in which YouTube clips can inspire hatred and terrorism thousands of miles away from their creators; in which “fake news” and internet echo chambers hijack public deliberation; and in which universities that suppress illiberal speech are condemned as illiberal themselves. This day-long philosophical conversation will interrogate how we should defend, or otherwise qualify, the ideal of free speech in the face of the charge that it objectionably protects dangerous expression.

The programme

09.00-9:15

 

 

Registration and refreshments on arrival

 

 

09:15-10:35

 

 

Session 1: Incitement and Hate Speech
Chair: Corey Brettschneider (Political Science, Brown)

 

“Transnational Incitement”
Susan Benesch (Law, Harvard)

“Hate Speech Law in India: The Perils of Over-Regulation and Under-Regulation”
Chinmayi Arun (Law, New Delhi)

 

 

 

10:35-10:50

 

 

 

Refreshment break

 

10:55-12:15

 

 

Session 2: Incitement and Counter-Terrorism
Chair: Eric Barendt (Law, UCL)

 

“Incitement to Terrorism”
Jeffrey Howard (Political Science, UCL), 

“Counter-Terrorism and Free Speech”
David Anderson QC (Former Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation)

 

 

 

12:15-13:15

 

 

 

Lunch break
(Lunch provided for Speakers and Chairs)

 

13:15-15:45

 

 

Session 3: Fake News, Media and Democracy
Chair: Cécile Laborde (Politics, Oxford)

 

“Are We Losing the Media We Need for Democracy?”
Timothy Garton Ash (History, Oxford),

“Fake News and Failures in the Marketplace of Ideas”
Jacob Rowbottom (Law, Oxford) 

“Alternative Facts and the Epistemic Dynamics of Extreme Violence”
Jonathan Leader-Maynard (Politics, Oxford) 

 

 

 

15:45-16:00

 

 

 

Refreshment break

 

16:00-18:30

 

 

Session 4: Free Speech on Campus
Chair: Ashwini Vasanthakumar (Law, KCL)

 

“In Defence of Snowflakes”
Emily McTernan (Political Science, UCL)

“When the University Speaks, What Should It Say? Free Speech on Campus”
Corey Brettschneider (Political Science, Brown)

“Heckling”
Jeremy Waldron (Law, NYU)

 

18:30Drinks reception
19:30Dinner
(for Speakers and Chairs)
 *subject to change
  

 

Funded by:

  • The British Academy and
  • UCL School of Public Policy

The participants

David Anderson QC (Former Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation)

Eric Barendt (Law, UCL)

Susan Benesch (Law, Harvard)

Corey Brettschneider (Political Science, Brown)

Timothy Garton Ash (History, Oxford)

Jeffrey Howard (Political Science, UCL)

Cécile Laborde (Politics, Oxford)

Jonathan Leader-Maynard (Politics, Oxford)

Emily McTernan (Political Science, UCL)

Jacob Rowbottom (Law, Oxford)

Ashwini Vasanthakumar (Law, KCL)

Jeremy Waldron (Law, NYU)