Course credit
3 credit hours
Course description
Development of laws and social attitudes that have attempted to regulate communication in the United States; relation of free speech to national security, to regulation of the public forum, and to artistic expression; analysis of doctrines and tests used by the Supreme Court in interpreting the limits to free expression. Must have access to a VCR. An additional $5 charge will be made for a supplemental video tape.
Delivery
This course is available in a print-based format. Mail completed assignments to the GIS Office. We will forward them to the instructor for grading.
Prerequisites
UNI students: junior standing
Instructor
Marvin D. Jensen, Professor Emeritus
Evaluation
12 assignments, 1 additional project for graduate level credit, 1 exam
Overview
This course is intended for college-level junior or senior students, or graduate students. This course has no prerequisites except the requirement of junior standing or above; however, some academic background in oral communication, history, and political science is suggested. Note that graduate students will be asked to do an additional short project which the instructor will describe through individual independent study.
This course provides a historical, legal, and philosophical overview of the American concept of freedom of speech. You will be guided to apply these principles to a very specific instance in which freedom of expression has been challenged. The concept of free speech is undergoing constant tests - e.g., recent legislative actions and court decisions regarding the Internet (as debated in USA Today, 6/14/96), efforts by Reebok International to contractually prohibit criticism of athletic equipment it provides to the University of Wisconsin (as reported in Sports Illustrated, 7/8/96), or attempts to censor the white supremacist novel The Turner Diaries (as reported in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, 6/23/96). If you choose, you may focus your case study assignment on a very recent instance-one that has occurred after the writing of this course.
Note that this is not a course in constitutional law and thus will not involve detailed study of court decisions. However, this course is intended to provide introductory information and perspectives which can be a basis for more specialized study of First Amendment law.
Course Outline
Assignments
Short paper assignments (two to three pages in length) are included in each of the first eight units. The last four units all relate to a major project on a topic of your choice, with four connected assignments culminating in a paper approximately seven to ten pages in length.
Exams
A midterm exam will be given after the eighth assignment. The exam will consist of objective questions covering assigned material in the textbook and information in the study guide. There will be no final exam because the second half of the course does not consist of new information; the case study project serves as a way of reviewing and applying concepts studied earlier in the course and thus reflects the integration of knowledge that would be otherwise tested in a final exam.
Grading
Assignments one through 10 will each constitute 5% of the evaluation of your work. The midterm examination will be valued at 15%. The eleventh assignment will be valued at 15%. The twelfth assignment will be valued at 20%.
As you undertake this course, please consider carefully the time frame within which you plan to complete your work. It is important to allow yourself sufficient time for the reading and research which are essential components of the course.
Textbook(s)
Smolla, R.A. (1992). Free Speech in an Open Society. New York: Vintage.
Access to a VCR will be needed in order to view videotapes used in this course. There is a nonrefundable material fee of $5 for videotapes used in this course.
Texts are available from the vendor of your choice or
University Book and Supply
1009 West 23rd Street, Cedar Falls, IA 50613
Phone: 319-266-7581 or 800-728-7581
Fax: 319-277-1266
E-mail: bookstore@panthersupply.com
To enroll
ONLINE
GIS enrollment information
IN PERSON
UNI Continuing Education
2637 Hudson Road (corner of 27th St. and Hudson Rd.)
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0223
Campus map (Look for Building 31)
For more information
Cindy Klodt, Guided Independent Study
UNI Continuing Education
319-273-2123 or 800-772-1746
ContinuingEd@uni.edu