Using Contested Narratives to Negotiate Free Speech, Hate Speech, and Students' Rights

• In Event: Law and Education SIG Roundtable Session

Abstract

This paper examines first how we understand issues of free speech through a legal lens and then considers the possible avenues of response and redress when what may be legal speech leads to conflict. By first examining the law as it has been applied to student speech, we provide a foundation for a conversation about how educators might navigate speech acts that create conflict. The law provides guidance for policymakers and actors, but often leaves teachers and building administrators with little practical guidance for addressing incidents in real-time. We suggest here that one way to approach this is through the use of contested narratives (Beckerman & Zembylas, 2012).

Authors

• Elena H. Silverman, Indiana University - Purdue University at Indianapolis

• Maureen Negrelli Coomer, Colorado College

• David Hoa Khoa Nguyen, Indiana University - Purdue University at Indianapolis