Enabling Policies for Responding to “Hate Speech” in Practice

This interactive, practice oriented, experimental workshop course, with special ways of student participation and real-life exercises will search for and test legal and extra-legal, including artistic and educational responses to racist and other "hate" speech, and access to related information. The course will examine - from a comparative perspective, in light of internationally accepted free speech principles – that to what extent regulations and other public policies enable effective responses to “hate speech" and to what extent "hate speech" laws can be abused to suppress critical political speech. The relevant public policies are crucial for enabling societies in their peculiar local context to develop the culture of peaceful and appreciative co-existence in the increasingly diverse societies and well-informed, open, participatory and meaningful public discourse (with free press) in which people can peacefully discuss their differences.