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LX403L: FREE SPEECH HONOURS (2024-2025)

Last modified: 23 Jul 2024 11:08


Course Overview

This course engages with the overarching question of the appropriate limits on freedom of expression in liberal democracies in the digital age. It does so through a comparative constitutional approach to the regulation of extreme speech in different jurisdictions, including the US, Canada, the EU, and the UK (among others), with a particular focus on the regulation of online speech. It examines existing constitutional frameworks for the regulation of extreme speech as well as proposals for reform.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 4
Term First Term Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Elisabeth Bechtold

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Any Undergraduate Programme (Studied)
  • Legal Studies (Ma Honours) (LX)
  • One of Programme Level 3 or Programme Level 4 or Programme Level 5

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

Are there a limited number of places available?

Yes

One or more of these courses have a limited number of places. Priority access will be given to students for whom this course is compulsory. Please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions for more details on this process.


Course Description

While the notion that freedom of speech is a well-established and valuable right is uncontested in liberal democracies, significant disagreements exist with respect to how it is conceptualised in legal frameworks and the extent to which governmental restrictions on the message or content of expression are considered legitimate. These differences raise significant challenges that are the subject of longstanding debates. In the digital age, advances in technology have transformed these debates by, among other things, profoundly altering the ways in which people communicate with one another and how governments communicate with the public. These advances have opened new pathways for participation in important matters of public debate while presenting new challenges for speech regulation.

This course explores these challenges through a comparative constitutional lens. Jurisdictions/legal frameworks examined in this course include the US, the UK, the EU, and Canada. It covers the constitutional frameworks for the protection of freedom of expression as well as the ways in which particular types of extreme speech are regulated within such frameworks.

Additionally, this course will highlight the unique harms and regulatory challenges flowing from different forms of free speech, including hate speech, terrorist-related speech, and disinformation. Particular attention will be paid to the potential free speech implications of recent regulatory efforts directed to the content moderation practices of online platforms, including social media.

The overarching question driving the course is the appropriate limits on freedom of expression in liberal democracies in the digital age. Students will be encouraged to not only understand the key differences in the protections afforded to expression in different jurisdictions (as revealed in the case law), but to think critically about the principles underpinning these differences and to meaningfully engage with relevant contemporary debates.


Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 30
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Feedback Word Count 2500
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualUnderstandStudents will be able to interpret and compare legal frameworks applicable to freedom of expression in different jurisdictions
FactualRememberplaceholder tbc
ReflectionAnalyseStudents will be able to differentiate between jurisdictions with respect to the protection afforded to freedom of expression and attribute particular attributes to specific legal frameworks
ReflectionEvaluateStudents will be able to critique existing legal frameworks for the protection of freedom of expression in different jurisdictions as well as proposals for reform

Exam

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 70
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Feedback
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualUnderstandStudents will be able to interpret and compare legal frameworks applicable to freedom of expression in different jurisdictions
FactualRememberplaceholder tbc
ReflectionAnalyseStudents will be able to differentiate between jurisdictions with respect to the protection afforded to freedom of expression and attribute particular attributes to specific legal frameworks
ReflectionEvaluateStudents will be able to critique existing legal frameworks for the protection of freedom of expression in different jurisdictions as well as proposals for reform

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Resit Assessments

Resit failed element in same format

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 100
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
Sorry, we don't have this information available just now. Please check the course guide on MyAberdeen or with the Course Coordinator

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualUnderstandStudents will be able to interpret and compare legal frameworks applicable to freedom of expression in different jurisdictions
ReflectionEvaluateStudents will be able to critique existing legal frameworks for the protection of freedom of expression in different jurisdictions as well as proposals for reform
FactualRememberplaceholder tbc
ReflectionAnalyseStudents will be able to differentiate between jurisdictions with respect to the protection afforded to freedom of expression and attribute particular attributes to specific legal frameworks

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