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What Is Free Speech?
The History of a Dangerous Idea
Brief Description
A fresh and exciting approach to one of the most controversial subjects of our time 'Free Speech!' is a clarion call all over the world, yet what it means today is more contested than ever. Many cultures regard it as dangerous- in China, India, and across...
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What Is Free Speech?
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Description
A fresh and exciting approach to one of the most controversial subjects of our time
'Free Speech!' is a clarion call all over the world, yet what it means today is more contested than ever. Many cultures regard it as dangerous- in China, India, and across the Islamic world, unorthodox views about politics, sex, and religion are repressed and people are often punished for expressing them. Even in the west, where it is held up as a core value, there is widespread discord and disagreement about what freedom of expression means. Amidst perennial imbalances of power, continually evolving cultural taboos, dramatic new technologies and a fast-changing global media landscape, where free speech comes from - and how we might think about it - are critical questions.
Through the lens of history, What Is Free Speech? shows us that freedom of speech is not an absolute from which societies and regimes have drifted or dissented at different times, but something more complicated and interesting. This book explains how to think more deeply about free speech as a global as well as a local question - by tracing how we got into our current predicaments, showing that history complicates our contemporary presumptions, and suggesting fresh possibilities for the future.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780141988245
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 26 March 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 35.0mm
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 500g
Pages: 480
About the Author
Fara Dabhoiwala was born in England, grew up in Amsterdam, and was educated at York and Oxford. His last book, The Origins of Sex- A History of the First Sexual Revolution was an Economist and Sunday Times book of the year and has been translated into several languages. After many years teaching at Oxford, he is now a Senior Research Scholar in history at Princeton University.
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What Is Free Speech?
A fresh and exciting approach to one of the most controversial subjects of our time. Free Speech! is a clarion call all over the world, yet what it means today is more contested than ever. Many cultures regard it as dangerousβin China, India, and across the Islamic world, unorthodox views about politics, sex, and religion are repressed, and people are...Hardback$8500Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
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