Social Justice through Counter Speech, Deplatforming, and Silencing

ften, people’s words are harmful. Potential examples include: a classmate appealing to racist stereotypes in a class discussion, a politician tweeting misogynistic rhetoric on family organization, and an invited speaker promoting transphobic misinformation. When faced with harmful speech, how should we respond? Is counterspeech efficacious, or does it merely worsen the problem? When is protest permissible, and against whom? Do companies have an obligation to “de-platform” or suspend the accounts of users spreading harmful speech? 

We are accepting abstracts from graduate students who have not yet received their degree at time of submission on these and related questions for our conference in Autumn 2024. OSU will offer modest travel stipends to accepted authors.