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Free Speech
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Free Speech
A Campus Toolkit

First Edition
November 2025 | CQ Press
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Free speech and academic freedom have long been hot topics on college campuses. Free Speech: A Campus Toolkit equips students with the tools they need to make informed judgments about campus controversies for themselves. Rather than telling them what to think about the question of free speech, prominent scholars and experts Rebecca L. Brown, Lee Epstein, Adam Liptak, and Andrew D. Martin weave theoretical and historical analysis with contemporary examples to help students understand what free speech actually is and the profound implications for democracy. This book is a valuable tool in any classroom to prompt discussion and encourage critical thinking and engagement.
About the Authors

 
 
Preliminaries
The Book in a Nutshell

 
The Website

 
Instructors’ Materials

 
 
Chapter 1. Classic Justifications for Free Speech
Introduction

 
1. Discovering Truth through the “Marketplace of Ideas”

 
2. Facilitating Participation in a Democracy

 
3. Assuring Individual Self-Fulfillment

 
4. Creating a More Adaptable and Stable Society (The “Safety Valve”)

 
5. Promoting Tolerance

 
 
Chapter 2. Free Speech in the U.S. Supreme Court
Introduction

 
1. An Overview of Free Speech Doctrine

 
2. What Is Expression?

 
3. Is there State Action?

 
4. Does the Speech Fall into an Unprotected Category?

 
5. Who Is Speaking?

 
6. Is the Regulation a Prior Restraint on Expression?

 
7. Is the Regulation Vague or Overbroad (or Both)?

 
8. Is the Regulation Content-Neutral or Content-Based/Viewpoint-Based?

 
 
Chapter 3. What Free Speech Can Learn from Social Science
Introduction

 
1. What People Say about Free Speech

 
2. Why People Say What They Do (and Why Justices Vote as They Do)

 
3. Strategies for Neutralizing In-Group Bias

 
 
Chapter 4. The Role of Academic Freedom in Campus Speech
Introduction

 
1. Universities Are a “They,” Not an “It”

 
2. The Meaning of Academic Freedom

 
3. The Relationship between Free Speech and Academic Freedom

 
 
Chapter 5. Campus Speech in Historical Context
Introduction

 
1. The Turn of the 20th Century and the First Red Scare

 
2. The Second Red Scare: McCarthyism and Another Setback for Campus Speech

 
3. Students Take the Stage: Campus Activism in the 1960s and 1970s

 
4. A New Tension Between Campus Speech and Equality

 
5. Campus Speech in the 21st Century

 
 
Coda
Key features
KEY FEATURES:
  • Chapters devoted to five essential tools for analyzing free speech conflicts in the academic setting: (1) classic theoretical justifications for free speech, (2) court doctrine relating to the First Amendment, (3) social science insights into the way society engages in expression, (4) the concept of academic freedom and its relation to campus disputes, and (5) the historical context of university speech. 
  • Primary sources in each chapter, including Supreme Court decision excerpts, philosophical texts, and social science literature, help students understand questions of free speech in the context of ongoing dialogue.
  • You Decide sections ask students to engage with real-world topics around free speech by employing the tools in the book.
  • A companion website for students contains case studies, suggested readings, videos, data, and other resources to bring the concepts in the book to life.
  • Instructor resources including model syllabi, lecture notes, slides, and instructional videos support the creation of courses devoted to free speech on campus.

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