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FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, SPEECH AND MEDIA

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, SPEECH AND MEDIA. How the world views these rights. The history of human communication. Development of language—approximately one million years ago Written communication—4000-3000 B.C. Censorship Homer (8 th century B.C.) “ free expression ”

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FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, SPEECH AND MEDIA

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  1. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, SPEECH AND MEDIA How the world views these rights

  2. The history of human communication • Development of language—approximately one million years ago • Written communication—4000-3000 B.C. • Censorship • Homer (8th century B.C.) “free expression” • Solon (630-560 B.C.) banned speaking evil of the living or dead • Socrates was poisoned for lecturing about unrecognized gods and suggest youth should question authority

  3. Advent of censorship • Censorship was dominant practice until enlightenment (17th and 18th centuries in Europe) • Mid-15th century: Johannes Gutenberg • Printing Press • Greater need for control • 1559 Vatican bans Copernicus and Galileo (earth is not stationary) • Religious revolutions • Monarchy bans plays and other documents

  4. John Milton 1644 • Areopagitica: “Truth emerges through free expression” • “Marketplace of ideas” • Truth can defeat falsehood in an open debate • If we do not allow open debate, we misjudge the strength of truth Became the basis of libertarian view of free expression from UK to USA—even today.

  5. Enlightenment (17th- 18th centuries) • Freedom of expression was primary objective • Sweden abolished censorship in 1766 • Denmark and Norway abolished censorship in 1770 • French “Declaration of the Rights of Man” 1798 • Abolished censorship and allowed the owing of printing press • USA 1791 Constitution and First Amendment

  6. Forms of Government • Monarchy • Dictatorship/Totalitarianism • Plutocracy/Oligarchy • Theocracy • Socialism/Communism • Democracy/Republic

  7. What does freedom of expression mean today? UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTShttp://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml FREEDOM HOUSE TEMPLATE: http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=16 Historic visual of press freedom: http://freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=359 Levels of protected communication (global press freedom index) http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2010,1034.html Some Country differences Germany: No Nazi symbols Commission of Defend Russia: crime to question Soviet history China: suppression of dissent Australia: Internet regulation

  8. Opportunities and Challenges of free expression • Case study • Jyllands-Posten: Danish Cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad • Produced to demonstrate self-censorship and limits of free expression • Resulted in protests and deaths and many arrests • Mentioned most recently in wikileaks • Homework: Design a scenario for restricting free speech in a democracy (100 words—Due TUESDAY) • What legitimate restriction can be placed on free speech? • What political or traditional laws or decisions exist to justify your restrictions.

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