Thursday, November 21
Center for First Amendment Studies
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Lectures Offered

The Center offers engaging public lectures and discussions on a variety of topics. Our lectures are designed to engage the immediate audience about issues that they are interested in thinking about. While the list below are lectures and topics that we are prepared to discuss, there are a variety of topics that our Center has to offer. We are happy to consider expanding our lecture offerings. Please contact us if there is a topic that you do not see below and that you would like to book a lecture to hear about.

We perpetually update our lectures to meet current developments in local, state, and federal issues concerning the First Amendment. Lectures we offer include the following general areas (tailored to current affairs, and the issues relevant to the audience):

  • Fundamentals of the First Amendment.
  • Hate Speech on College Campuses.
  • Academic Freedom and the First Amendment.
  • Hate Speech and the First Amendment.
  • A First Amendment Profile of the Supreme Court (This lecture may take many forms—one full lecture on one Supreme Court justice, a combination of justices, or an overview of the First Amendment philosophies of all of the active justices).
  • Freedom of Speech and Campaign Communication (Money as Speech in Elections).
  • Religious Freedom vs. Equal Protection: Religion and Discrimination at a Crossroads.
  • The First Amendment and Controversial Campus Speakers.
  • Issues in Cyberspeech and the First Amendment.
  • The First Amendment and School Dress Codes.
  • The First Amendment, Media, and Democracy.
  • The First Amendment, Sexual Harassment, and Title IX. (Can be modified for non-school contexts).
  • The First Amendment Challenges of Being an Academic Administrator.
  • The First Amendment Challenges of Students in Public Education.
  • Corporations are People (./?): First Amendment Rights of the Corporation.
  • Issues in Cyberbullying and Free Speech.
  • Freedom of Information and the First Amendment.
  • Issues in Reproductive Freedom and the First Amendment.
  • Issues in Freedom of the Press: Photography, HIPAA, Journalist Access, Shield Laws, Gag Orders, Cameras in the Courtroom, Criminal Libel, Broadcasting, and Other Issues of a Free Press.
  • The First Amendment Rights of Student Organizations.
  • Fake News, Lying, and the First Amendment.
  • Law Enforcement Searches and the First Amendment: Issues in Immigration Searches, Cell Phone Searches, and Public Safety.
  • Government Strategies of Suppressing Opposition.
  • Fear, Emotions, and the First Amendment.
  • Social Media and the First Amendment.
  • How Does the First Amendment Mean Different Things to Different People? A Lesson in Constitutional Interpretation.
  • Censorship in the Arts: National Endowment for the Arts, Popular Music (Rock and Rap Censorship), Paintings, Experimental Arts, and the Artistic Unpopular.
  • Issues in Freedom of Assembly: Funeral Protests, Abortion Protests, Civil Rights, and Loitering Laws.
  • First Amendment and Identity: Issues in Class, Race, Sex, Queer Politics, Veteran, Age, Religion, Disability, Pregnancy, Medical Condition, Marital Status, National Origin, and Other Marginalized Identity Categories.
  • Protesting and Military Funerals: Issues Surrounding Snyder v. Phelps.
  • Same-Sex Marriage and the First Amendment.
  • Supreme Court Appointments, Controversy, and Confirmation Hearings.
  • International Issues in Freedom of Expression. (Can be tailored to discuss specific countries and controversies throughout the world).
  • International Issues in Freedom of Press. (Can be tailored to discuss specific countries and controversies throughout the world).
  • International Issues in Freedom of Religion. (Can be tailored to discuss specific countries and controversies throughout the world).
  • International Issues in Freedom of Assembly. (Can be tailored to discuss specific countries and controversies throughout the world).
  • Native Americans and the First Amendment. (Can be tailored to discuss specific countries and controversies throughout the world).
  • Violence, Indecency, and Obscenity in First Amendment Controversies.
  • Flag Burning and the First Amendment.
  • First Amendment Rights of Commercial Speakers.
  • Libel, Slander, and the First Amendment.
  • Issues of Privacy and the First Amendment.
  • SLAPP Lawsuits, the Right to Sue, and the First Amendment.
  • Prayer in Public Schools.
  • First Amendment and School Vouchers.
  • First Amendment and Religious Displays.
  • Scientific Expression and the First Amendment: Human Cloning, Scientific Publications, and Recent Scientific Expression.
  • Book Burning and the First Amendment.
  • Free Speech Zones.
  • Freedom of Speech in the Military Context.
  • The First Amendment and Adult Entertainment.
  • Issues in Freedom of Religion: Vaccinations, Prisoners’ Rights, RLUIPA, the Workplace, and Religion in Public Schools, and Other Issues in Freedom of Religion.