Resource person: Audra Bullard - office@clehighlands.com

Description:

What do we mean when we say that free expression should be regulated by the “free marketplace of ideas?” This seductive metaphor has gained widespread currency in the modern United States. For this reason, it is worth thinking about its history. Who popularized the idea? Who opposed it? How is the market to be regulated (as all markets are)? This illustrated lecture surveys the long history of free expression in the United States from the enactment of the First Amendment in 1791 which limited the power of Congress to restrict the press, to the rise of the Internet, and the challenges posed by AI. Among the topics that we will consider will be the abolitionist mails controversy of the 1830s, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.’s famous dissents in First World War era sedition cases, the regulation of movies and radio during the Second World War, and a little known law—Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996—that has structured public discourse on social media platforms and other on-line communications today.

Richard R. John is a Professor of History and Communications at Columbia University. He specializes in the history of business, technology, communications, and American political development. He teaches and advises graduate students in Columbia’s Ph.D. program in communications at the Columbia Journalism School and is a member of the core faculty of the Columbia history department, where he teaches courses on the history of capitalism and the history of communications. His publications include many essays, eight edited books, and two monographs: “Spreading the News: The American Postal System from Franklin to Morse” (1995) and “Network Nation: Inventing American Telecommunications” (2010). He has a B.A. in social studies, a M.A. in history and a Ph.D. in the history of American civilization, all from Harvard University

Notes: Cancellation Policy Please let us know immediately if you are unable to attend a class. There is no refund for cancellations within two (2) weeks prior to a scheduled class. Programs that include food, beverage or art materials must be canceled within three (3) weeks prior to receive a refund. CLE reserves the right to cancel a program if the minimum enrollment has not been met or for circumstances beyond our control, and participants will be notified, a complete refund will be issued. All classes are held in the CLE Lecture Hall at the Peggy Crosby Center unless otherwise noted. In the event information has changed from the published brochure, it will be posted on our website and in our e-blasts. Addresses for “private home” venues will be provided to registrants within 2 days of the program date.

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