Sigal Ben-Porath discusses her new book, Free Speech on Campus

Debates around race, sexual assault, LGBTQ rights, immigration policy, and an array of political issues have become flashpoints at many American colleges. In Free Speech on Campus, Penn GSE’s Sigal Ben-Porath asks how colleges have traditionally approached free expression, and if they have to change now that the student population is more diverse, the internet has changed communication, and everyone carries a camera in their pocket.

Ben-Porath offers a useful framework for thinking about free speech controversies both inside and outside the college classroom, shifting the focus away from disputes about legality and harm and toward democracy and inclusion. She provides readers with strategies to de-escalate tensions and negotiate highly charged debates surrounding trigger warnings, safe spaces, and speech that verges on hate.

Read the review in Inside Higher Ed.