Beyond the First Amendment
Encyclopedia
Beyond the First Amendment: The Politics of Free Speech and Pluralism is a book about freedom of speech
and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution
, written by author Samuel Peter Nelson. It was published by Johns Hopkins University Press
in 2005. In the book, Nelson discusses how the more general notion of free speech differs from that specifically applied to the First Amendment in American law. He proposes an argument for a "pluralist framework" of free speech, in order to incorporate multiple factors which drive communication.
The book was positively received in reviews from academic and legal journals. Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries recommended the book due to its thought-provoking propositions, and a review in The Journal of Politics described it as, "a nice effort to explore free speech issues not covered by the First Amendment or constitutional law." A review in the journal Political Communication
concluded of the author's argumentation, "His is indeed a theory fraught with possibilities both favorable and unfavorable to an expanded scope for the contents of free speech." Law and Politics Book Review concluded, "Beyond the First Amendment is an intriguing and important contribution to the literature on free speech."
with a Bachelor of Arts
degree. He subsequently obtained a Ph.D.
from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Nelson is an associate professor in the department of political science
and public administration
at the University of Toledo
, having joined the department in 2001. Beyond the First Amendment was published in 2005 by Johns Hopkins University Press
.
, and the larger notion of freedom of speech
. The author discusses complex problems involving cyberspace communications and discourse which takes place on the Internet
, and puts forth the supposition that such speech is not as easily addressed by the United States Constitution
. Nelson points out that legal matters dealing with free speech in society often occur outside the United States or through regulation of online parties by sovereign state entities, and thus do not always directly fall within the jurisdiction of the United States government and American law. Nelson introduces the concept of a "pluralist framework" to address the various factors which drive free speech.
, who wrote: "The work is recommended reading for its provocative argument."
In a review of the book in The Journal of Politics, Mark A. Graber of the University of Maryland
commented, "Samuel P. Nelson's Beyond the First Amendment: The Politics of Free Speech and Pluralism is a nice effort to explore free speech issues not covered by the First Amendment or constitutional law." The review pointed out how the book's author highlight's areas of free speech which fall outside the jurisdiction of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and commented,
Graber concluded, "Beyond the First Amendment highlights how most crucial questions in institutional settings concern the value that ought to be placed on certain expressions rather than the legal right to engage in that expression."
Peter G. Fish of Duke University
reviewed Beyond the First Amendment for Political Communication
, and wrote that Nelson's arguments within the book, "provide able and well-crafted analyses of identifiable problems in communications." Fish analyzed the nature of Nelson's argumentation, and commented, "Nelson is seemingly offering a cost (injury to society)-benefit analysis for specific exercises of all kinds of speech in the context of all sorts of social values and relationships irrespective of whether such relationships are found in the public or private sphere." Fish discussed Nelson's concepts within the framework of changing viewpoints on free speech through varying mediums of communication including online fora and speech in other venues: "How to weigh these elements also figures in Nelson's consideration of the Internet with its capacity for international communications—how to weigh the intent of an Internet speaker against an unintended hostile foreign audience shielded by its own local laws or even remote, but culturally distinctive, domestic audiences for that matter." He posits that Nelson's plurality theory contains elements which would impact free speech in the future, "What Nelson terms 'incommensurable values' embedded in remote legal cultures not perceived by the speaker requires close attention to context, speaker's intention or lack thereof, and 'uptake' on the part of distant audiences. His is indeed a theory fraught with possibilities both favorable and unfavorable to an expanded scope for the contents of free speech."
Professor Steven B. Lichtman of the department of political science at the University of Vermont
reviewed the book for the Law and Politics Book Review, and identified Nelson's pluralist theory as a significant contribution. Lichtman commented, "The most important contribution of Beyond the First Amendment is its attempt to offer up a new model for understanding and safeguarding free speech." He praised the author for supporting his model with case history, "As a purely philosophical matter, Nelson’s pluralist framework is certainly intriguing. The model must be more than a mere talking point, though, and Nelson wisely endeavors to show how the pluralist framework can be deployed as a means of resolving actual cases." Lichtman concluded by recommending the work for academic scholars, "Beyond the First Amendment is an intriguing and important contribution to the literature on free speech. While it is likely beyond the grasp of all but the most talented undergraduates, its overview of First Amendment theory is an excellent resource for graduate students beginning to explore the field. For scholars, it is a challenging and provocative work sure to cause us to reassess how we teach and write about the subject."
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
, written by author Samuel Peter Nelson. It was published by Johns Hopkins University Press
Johns Hopkins University Press
The Johns Hopkins University Press is the publishing division of the Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The Press publishes books, journals, and electronic databases...
in 2005. In the book, Nelson discusses how the more general notion of free speech differs from that specifically applied to the First Amendment in American law. He proposes an argument for a "pluralist framework" of free speech, in order to incorporate multiple factors which drive communication.
The book was positively received in reviews from academic and legal journals. Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries recommended the book due to its thought-provoking propositions, and a review in The Journal of Politics described it as, "a nice effort to explore free speech issues not covered by the First Amendment or constitutional law." A review in the journal Political Communication
Political communication
Political communication is a sub-field of political science and communication that deals with the production, dissemination, procession and effects of information, both through media and interpersonally, within a political context...
concluded of the author's argumentation, "His is indeed a theory fraught with possibilities both favorable and unfavorable to an expanded scope for the contents of free speech." Law and Politics Book Review concluded, "Beyond the First Amendment is an intriguing and important contribution to the literature on free speech."
Author
Samuel Peter Nelson graduated from Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree. He subsequently obtained a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Nelson is an associate professor in the department of political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and public administration
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
at the University of Toledo
University of Toledo
The University of Toledo is a public university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. The Carnegie Foundation classified the university as "Doctoral/Research Extensive."-National recognition:...
, having joined the department in 2001. Beyond the First Amendment was published in 2005 by Johns Hopkins University Press
Johns Hopkins University Press
The Johns Hopkins University Press is the publishing division of the Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The Press publishes books, journals, and electronic databases...
.
Contents
Nelson's work discusses the differences between concepts in the United States involving the First Amendment to the United States ConstitutionFirst Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
, and the larger notion of freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
. The author discusses complex problems involving cyberspace communications and discourse which takes place on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, and puts forth the supposition that such speech is not as easily addressed by the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
. Nelson points out that legal matters dealing with free speech in society often occur outside the United States or through regulation of online parties by sovereign state entities, and thus do not always directly fall within the jurisdiction of the United States government and American law. Nelson introduces the concept of a "pluralist framework" to address the various factors which drive free speech.
Analysis
Beyond the First Amendment is cited as a reference in the Encyclopedia of American Civil Liberties edited by Paul Finkelman, and Self-Examination: The Present and Future of Librarianship by John M. Budd. The book received a positive reception from a review in Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries by M. W. Bowers of the University of Nevada, Las VegasUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of Nevada-Las Vegas is a public, coeducational university located in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada, USA. The campus is located approximately east of the Las Vegas Strip. The institution includes a Shadow Lane Campus, located just east of the University Medical Center of...
, who wrote: "The work is recommended reading for its provocative argument."
In a review of the book in The Journal of Politics, Mark A. Graber of the University of Maryland
University of Maryland
When the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...
commented, "Samuel P. Nelson's Beyond the First Amendment: The Politics of Free Speech and Pluralism is a nice effort to explore free speech issues not covered by the First Amendment or constitutional law." The review pointed out how the book's author highlight's areas of free speech which fall outside the jurisdiction of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and commented,
"This effort to highlight important free speech
issues in areas that are not governed by the First Amendment offers a particularly promising avenue for political scientists interested in American constitutionalism. Doctrinal scholarship is dominated by law professors who have special training in making legal arguments. By comparison, the constitutional issues that arise outside of constitutional law discussed in Beyond the First Amendment require the sort of special training in political theory and public policy that marks education in the social sciences."
Graber concluded, "Beyond the First Amendment highlights how most crucial questions in institutional settings concern the value that ought to be placed on certain expressions rather than the legal right to engage in that expression."
Peter G. Fish of Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
reviewed Beyond the First Amendment for Political Communication
Political communication
Political communication is a sub-field of political science and communication that deals with the production, dissemination, procession and effects of information, both through media and interpersonally, within a political context...
, and wrote that Nelson's arguments within the book, "provide able and well-crafted analyses of identifiable problems in communications." Fish analyzed the nature of Nelson's argumentation, and commented, "Nelson is seemingly offering a cost (injury to society)-benefit analysis for specific exercises of all kinds of speech in the context of all sorts of social values and relationships irrespective of whether such relationships are found in the public or private sphere." Fish discussed Nelson's concepts within the framework of changing viewpoints on free speech through varying mediums of communication including online fora and speech in other venues: "How to weigh these elements also figures in Nelson's consideration of the Internet with its capacity for international communications—how to weigh the intent of an Internet speaker against an unintended hostile foreign audience shielded by its own local laws or even remote, but culturally distinctive, domestic audiences for that matter." He posits that Nelson's plurality theory contains elements which would impact free speech in the future, "What Nelson terms 'incommensurable values' embedded in remote legal cultures not perceived by the speaker requires close attention to context, speaker's intention or lack thereof, and 'uptake' on the part of distant audiences. His is indeed a theory fraught with possibilities both favorable and unfavorable to an expanded scope for the contents of free speech."
Professor Steven B. Lichtman of the department of political science at the University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
reviewed the book for the Law and Politics Book Review, and identified Nelson's pluralist theory as a significant contribution. Lichtman commented, "The most important contribution of Beyond the First Amendment is its attempt to offer up a new model for understanding and safeguarding free speech." He praised the author for supporting his model with case history, "As a purely philosophical matter, Nelson’s pluralist framework is certainly intriguing. The model must be more than a mere talking point, though, and Nelson wisely endeavors to show how the pluralist framework can be deployed as a means of resolving actual cases." Lichtman concluded by recommending the work for academic scholars, "Beyond the First Amendment is an intriguing and important contribution to the literature on free speech. While it is likely beyond the grasp of all but the most talented undergraduates, its overview of First Amendment theory is an excellent resource for graduate students beginning to explore the field. For scholars, it is a challenging and provocative work sure to cause us to reassess how we teach and write about the subject."
See also
- CensorshipCensorshipthumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
- Censorship in the United StatesCensorship in the United StatesIn general, censorship in the United States, which involves the suppression of speech or other public communication, raises issues of freedom of speech, which is constitutionally protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution....
- Free contentFree contentFree content, or free information, is any kind of functional work, artwork, or other creative content that meets the definition of a free cultural work...
- Freedom of speech by countryFreedom of speech by countryFreedom of speech is the concept of the inherent human right to voice one's opinion publicly without fear of censorship or punishment. "Speech" is not limited to public speaking and is generally taken to include other forms of expression. The right is preserved in the United Nations Universal...
- Freedom of speech in the United StatesFreedom of speech in the United StatesFreedom of speech in the United States is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and by many state constitutions and state and federal laws, with the exception of obscenity, defamation, incitement to riot, and fighting words, as well as harassment, privileged...
- Freedom of the pressFreedom of the pressFreedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
- International Freedom of Expression ExchangeInternational Freedom of Expression ExchangeThe International Freedom of Expression eXchange , founded in 1992, is a global network of around 90 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression....
- WikileaksWikileaksWikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
External links
- Samuel P. Nelson, website of author
- Dr. Samuel Nelson, bio profile at The University of Toledo