Reading Assignments
My intention is to conduct class through a variety of interactive and dialogical pedagogical approaches that will emphasize class discussion and the Socratic method. Such approaches require that you have completed a careful and active reading of course materials prior to class. Active reading means that you have studied the materials with an eye both to comprehending the main themes and arguments (and thus you should be able to summarize the material with some degree of specificity) and that you are ready to critically engage the materials (and thus you have questions to pose about the material, arguments to make about its significance and implications, etc.). The amount of reading I am asking you to do is not particularly large on any given day, but some of the materials – especially Supreme Court decisions – are difficult and you will need to take care with them. Be sure to schedule your time wisely.
There are three books for this class, listed above. Additionally, a number of articles will be placed on E-Reserves as .pdf files and are marked on the course calendar with an asterisk (*). A number of reading assignments consist of Supreme Court decisions, all of which are readily available on the WWW. It will be your responsibility to find them and download them. On several occasions you will be asked to access and/or review particular websites as part of class reading assignments. And in that context, make note of the fact that the internet is an excellent resource for materials on free speech and you should be sure to familiarize yourself with such sources early in the course, (e.g., websites sponsored by Findlaw, Jurist, the ACLU, EFF, Lexus-Nexus, and Oyez, as well as numerous government sponsored sites).