Speech Act Series
Mission
Fierce debates have erupted across the political spectrum over issues of free speech and social media, truth claims and fake news, justifiable norms and mob action, and they often fuel more outrage than reasoned discourse. University campuses are a particular focus of the controversies over “cancel culture” and “deplatforming” and “calling out.” But a college campus should be the locus of conversations that can enlighten and educate.
Fordham University hosted a series of panels and speakers during the academic year 2021-22 that sought to highlight these issues and engage audiences in a challenging yet constructive way. The series, entitled “Speech Acts” covered range of topics and issues.
Past Events
Political Discourse in a Polarized Age
October 7, 2021
Fordham Law School, Costantino Room
A discussion about what polarization has done to public and political discourse in America, and what, if anything needs to, or can be, done about it.
Featured Speakers:
George Stephanopoulos, host and anchor at ABC News
Robert Talisse, professor of philosophy, Vanderbilt University
Kristen Soltis Anderson, political pollster and commentator
Roshni Nedungadi, pollster and researcher at HITstrategies
Moderator: Monika McDermott, Fordham University
View a Recording of the Event (Fordham only)
Free Speech in the Workplace (and Its Limits)
October 15, 2021, 3:30-5 p.m. ET
Location: Bepler Commons (Rose Hill)
Featured Speakers:
Bruce Barry, professor of management at Vanderbilt University
Jason Brennan, professor of economics and philosophy at Georgetown University
Moderator: Miguel Alzola, Fordham University; Rachel Jolivette Brown, Fordham University
View a Recording of the Event (Fordham only)
Speech Impacts: ‘Cancel Culture’ and the Consequences of Our Words
November 4, 2021, 4-5:30 p.m.
Location: Webinar
Featured Speakers:
Cornell Belcher, researcher and commentator at Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics
Meredith Clark, Associate Professor and Founding Director of the new Center for Communication, Media Innovation and Social Change, Northeastern University
Suzanne Nossel, is CEO of PEN America
Moderator: Jesse Baldwin-Phillipi, Fordham University
View a Recording of the Event (Fordham only)
The Promise and Limits of Our First Amendment
January 26, 2022, 4:00-5:30pm
Zoom Webinar (A Zoom webinar link will be sent to registrants two days before the event)
Featured Speakers:
Mary Anne Franks, University of Miami
Genevieve Lakier, University of Chicago
Julie Suk, Fordham University
Nelson Tebbe, Cornell University
Moderator: Abner Greene, Fordham University
View a Recording of the Event (Fordham only)
Speaking Truth to Power: A Conversation with Nikole Hannah-Jones
The Inaugural Eunice Carter Lecture
Hosted by Fordham Law School
Tuesday, February 1, 2022, Time: 6:00 - 7:15pm
In-person and via Zoom, open exclusively to the Fordham community
Fordham Law School
Costantino Room (Second Floor)
Featuring: Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times / Howard University
Moderator: Janai Nelson, Assoc Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Remarks by: Leah Carter, Eunice Carter's great-granddaughter
Introduced by: Catherine Powell, Fordham University
This event was not recorded
The Quality of Mercy: Justice, Forgiveness, and Public Discourse
March 10, 2022, Time: 1:00-2:00pm
Location: Zoom webinar
Featured Speakers:
Reverend Charles Howard, University of Pennsylvania
Stephen Pope, Boston College
Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg
Moderator: David Gibson, Fordham University
Epistemic Bubbles and Echo Chambers: The Epistemic and Political Impacts of Modern Technology
March 24, 2022, Time: 4:00-5:30pm
Location: Zoom webinar
Featured Speakers:
C. Thi Nguyen, University of Utah
Natasha Schull, NYU
Siva Vaidhyanathan, University of Virginia
Moderator: Olivier Sylvain, Fordham University
View a Recording of the Event (Fordham only)
Academic Discourse and Freedom of Expression on Campus
April 6, 2022, Time: 5:00-6:30pm
Location: Keating 3rd (Rose Hill)
Featured Speakers:
Sigal R Ben-Porath, University of Pennsylvania
Radhika Sainath, Palestine Legal
Dennis Tyler, Fordham University
Rafael Zapata, Fordham University
Moderator: Abner Greene, Fordham University