POLS 344: Civil Liberties

Professor Ron Den Otter

In POLS 344 Civil Liberties, we will read (edited) U.S. Supreme Court opinions concerning free speech, including these topics: Incitement, Defamation, Sexually Explicit Speech, Fighting Words, Virtual Child Pornography, Offensive Speech, Threats, Hate Speech (cross-burning), Commercial Speech, Content-Based vs. Content-Neutral Restrictions (draft card and flag burning), and the Free Speech Rights of Junior High and High School Students. During class, we also will be doing legal analysis of hypothetical fact patterns to prepare you for the in-class exams and to help you “think like a lawyer.”