English 101 with Dr. Vickery

Self-Censorship and Free Speech


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In this episode we discuss self-censorship on campus and free speech. While self-censorship is a real threat, the solution isn't to bully your detractors into self-censoring their own reactions to your speech. It's up to the speaker or writer to make sure that she or he has the courage to accept the consequences of speech.

In the larger context of researching and writing essays, it's important that we we are honest with our sources and with ourselves at every step. Too often I read student essays where the students are writing what they think they are supposed to write, a small set of opinions they believe I'm looking for. That kind of writing is stilted, boring, and prone to errors since so much cognitive energy is spent not saying things rather than saying them. If we trust that we've been honest with ourselves throughout the entire process though, and if we're willing to listen genuinely when people disagree, we should have nothing to fear from speaking our minds.

The Emma Camp piece is here; the Hepola piece here.

You can find the full Andrew Doyle interview on YouTube as well as the Rowan Atkinson speech and the Jordan Peterson interview.

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English 101 with Dr. VickeryBy Grant Vickery