Dear students,
We are happy to announce the new call for the Bard’s Network “Freedom of Expression 2019” course starting at EHU this spring semester for the second time.
Course duration: March-May 2019
Mode: online course (Moodle/Google Classroom)
Credits: 3 ECTS (9 weeks).
Entry requirements: English skills at the level of at least B1.
Study cycle: BA (all programs).
Registration deadline: February 18
The course is FREE for all EHU students! Please find more details attached.
Course summary: The language of freedom of speech is often invoked to defend those who speak truth to power. Free speech can be seen as the language of political resistance, as we saw when Vaclav Havel spoke up against the Czech Communist regime or when American football players kneel during the national anthem. But freedom of speech also is invoked to protect satirical criticism as in the case of Charlie Hebdo and the Danish Cartoons’ depiction of the Prophet Mohammed. And today free speech is frequently invoked in the name of conservative provocateurs like Geert Wilders or Milo Yiannopolous. Many see free speech as the fundamental right of individual liberty and self-expression, which is why it is guaranteed in Article 19 of the International Declaration of Human Rights. Even for those who reject the idea that unrestricted speech will lead to political truths, the free expression of competing ideas girds a pluralist society where disagreement and dissent are prized. On another side, however, uncensored speech can lead to dangerous and at times painful ideas. Should anti-democratic groups be free to argue democratically against democracy? Should racist and sexist speech be permitted when it cows certain people from the public sphere, thus limiting their right to public engagement? Questions of the freedom of speech and ideas go to the heart of our global, liberal, and democratic community. The incredible ferment around the extent of free speech today shows how unsettled this community is.
Network course is taught by the faculty from EHU and Bard’s network of partner institutions, including Bard College (Annandale on Hudson), American University of Central Asia, Al-Quds Bard Partnership, Bard College Berlin, and Smolny College.
Students eager to participate in the course should submit a short cover letter in English (up to 200 words) indicating their motivation and interest to take the course. Please send your submission to Kseniya Shtalenkova (kseniya.shtalenkova@ehu.lt, indicate Freedom2019_Submission as the subject of your E-mail) by February 18. Make sure that your submission is sent from your institutional E-mail address (ending with @student.ehu.lt) so that we could subscribe you to the Google Classroom.