The First Amendment Today: Tensions & Intersections

A one-day symposium developed with support from the University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement’s VOICE Initiative and from UC Irvine’s Humanities Center.

Speakers: UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman, Brook Thomas (UCI English), Jane Stoever (UCI Law), David Kaye (UCI Law), Mark Deppe & Crew (Esports UCI), and Brad Queen (UCI English)

All times on the schedule are PST.

Bech-Loughlin First Amendment Center

The themes and focal points for today’s symposium derive from Bradley Queen’s undergraduate course, (English 11) The First Amendment Today: Tensions & Intersections, offered by UCI’s English Department. The students currently enrolled in the class this spring quarter will bring their knowledge and insights to bear on the topics presented. With our focus on undergraduate education in humanities and law, the speakers and the ensuing discussions will engage pressing questions we find before us today. Over the course of the day, lectures and panels will work through specific focal points, discussing religious liberties today; law and literature, and reflections on incitement and hate speech; internet law, rights to information, and questions about regulations of online environments; and gaming, esports on college campuses, and Title IX protections. As a multi-disciplinary collaboration, The First Amendment Today will bring together a community of students, scholars, practitioners, and gaming industry experts within the setting of a major public university to discuss intersectional issues emanating from constitutional rights and liberties of importance to us all.