Spring 2026
Freedom of Expression
Dates: January 30, 2026 - May 15, 2026Day/Time: Friday 10:10 AM - 1:10 PM EST
Level:
Certificate: Civic Engagement, Human Rights
Instructor: Denis Skopin, Smolny Beyond Borders
This course provides an introduction to debates about freedom of expression. What does this definition mean? Is there a right to say anything? The course investigates who has had this right, where and why, and what it has had to do in particular with politics and culture. What powers does speech have, and for what? Debates about censorship, dissidence and protest, hate speech, the First Amendment and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are obvious starting points, but the course also explores some less obvious questions: about faith and the secular, the rights of minorities, migration, surveillance, speaking and political agency, law and politics, social media, cancel culture, and the force(s) of words. In asking about the status of the speaking human subject, the course looks at the ways in which the subject of rights, and indeed the thought of human rights itself, derives from an experience of claiming, speaking, and speaking up. These questions are examined, if not answered, across a variety of philosophical, legal, journalistic, and political texts, with a heavy dose of case studies (many of them happening right now) and readings in contemporary critical and legal theory. Taught in parallel with OSUN partner institutions where many assignments and activities are shared, and students work jointly with peers at other schools.
Credits: 4 US / 8 ECTS