Time: 2:00. – 3:00 p.m.
Place: 4F51-A Ellis Library
Presenter: Dr. Justin B. Dyer

As part of Banned Books month, the Diversity Action Committee is sponsoring a lecture by Dr. Justin B. Dyer, Assistant Professor, Political Sciences, on the freedom of speech, the First Amendment, and controversy over banned books. Briefly, his talking points will include:

-The First Amendment provides that Congress shall make no law “abridging the freedom of speech”
-This brings up the questions: What is “the freedom of speech”? Why do we have it?
-How has this applied to the issue of banned books?
-Example 1: In the Smith Act (1940), Congress prohibited printing or publishing anything that advocated the overthrow of the government. After WWII, several Supreme Court cases considered whether books like the Communist Manifesto were banned by the Smith Act and whether the Smith Act was constitutional.
-Example 2: Other cases took up the issue of whether “obscene” material (such as the D.H. Lawrence’s novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover) was protected by the First Amendment.
-Conclusion: Overview of the Supreme Court’s current approach to obscenity and revolutionary literature, and a reflection on the history of banned books.

Release time is available with supervisor approval. An Outlook meeting notice will be sent to all library employees within the next few days.