Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom

Description

Orwell is famous for his critique of thought control in totalitarian states. Less familiar, but more pertinent to us, is his condemnation of the practice in free societies, where “unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without the need for any official ban,” in part thanks to control over means of expression by concentrated private power, in part — more subtly and effectively — “because of a general tacit agreement that `it wouldn’t do’ to mention that particular fact,” tacit agreement that can become so deeply internalized that Gramscian hegemonic common sense is entrenched beyond question. The right of private power to control expression is considered inviolate. Options to escape such controls exist, but are limited. New questions arise with social media that hover ambiguously between private property and public utilities, and are readily subject to other forms of control in the digital world. Authentic free expression is under severe threat.

Period	2023 Apr 19
Held at	Middle East Study Centre (MESC), University of Hull, United Kingdom
Degree of Recognition	International