Course Section | Columbia Law School

Section Description Provided by Instructor

Professor Lee C. Bollinger
Professor Miklos Haraszti

A Free Press for a Global Society examines both the U.S. experience in developing a system of freedom of the press and the international experience as well. The course will then consider how a more integrated system might evolve over the coming decades. This is a pressing issue, for individual nations and for the worldwide community, because the increased interconnectedness of the global economy, the rise of global problems (such as climate change and financial regulation), and the emergence of technologies that make global communication possible all depend upon a free flow of information and ideas. Students will undertake in depth examinations of First Amendment law, international treaties and principles, public policies affecting the press, and a range of perspectives on these issues. Mikl?s Haraszti, former OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, will co-teach the course with President Lee C. Bollinger. Guest speakers will be invited to address the class. Students are invited to participate in a variety of ways in the conference of the same name held in November.

This class is graded on a midterm (30%) and a final (70%) exam. Participation will be a factor in the final grade.

Required

Bollinger, Lee C.
Uninhibited, Robust and Wide-Open : A Free Press for a New Century
ISBN 978-0-19-530439-8

Stone, Geoffrey, et al.
Constitutional Law, Sixth Edition
ISBN 978-0-7355-7719-0

Stone, Geoffrey, et al.
2009 Supplement Constitutional Law
ISBN 978-0-7355-7989-7

Weeks 1-3
First Amendment Law and Development of the US Press

Weeks 4-7
International Institutions Concerned with Freedom of the Press

Weeks 8-11
Proposals for Enhancing a Global Free Press
Engagement in A Free Press for a Global Society Forum

Weeks 12-14
Further Develop Ideas
Student Presentations