Communication Studies Subject Guide

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Freedom of Speech and Censorship

Reference Books | Databases | Organizations | Web Sites

Reference Books

• Censored [2004]: The Top 25 Censored Stories

Ref. and stacks PN4888.P6T67 2004 - award-winning annual collection of significant news stories neglected by the major media. Includes nine chapters on censorship topics, Tom Tomorrow cartoons, index and guides to independent publications and organizations. Some earlier volumes in stacks.

• Censorship

Ref. Z658.U5C38 1997 (3 vols.) - almost 1,000 essays on people, issues, individual works that were censored, organizations, laws, events and court cases.

• Censorship: A World Encyclopedia

Ref. Z658.W675C38 2001 (4 vols.) - Includes articles on censorship in individual countries and religions, concepts, controversial topics, and particular media; index in Vol. 4.

• Free Expression and the American Public: A Survey Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the First Amendment

Ref. JC599.U5W95 1991 - six informative chapters plus detailed tables on our opinions regarding free speech.

• International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences

Ref. H41.I58 2001 - Includes articles on Censorship and Secrecy, Censorship and Transgressive Art, Censorship in Research and Scholarship, and Freedom of the Press, all with recent bibliographies.

Databases

• Academic Search Premier

Click on "Advanced Search" and type in "freedom of speech", "First Amendment," or "censorship" to find full-text articles. For the most targeted results, limit your search term to "SU Subject" in the drop-down box. Click on "Images" to find photographs related to this topic.

• PAIS

Abstracts of articles, books and government documents on all public and political issues worldwide. Click on FindText to link to the electronic full text or the Libraries' call number, if available here.

• Worldwide Political Science Abstracts

Both abstracts of articles and links to web sites are provided. Type "de=freedom of speech" for best results. Click on FindText for electronic full text or the Libraries' call number, if available here.

Organizations

• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

The premier U.S. organization protecting free speech. Includes press releases, features and a legislative update.

• American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom

Searchable site covering library censorship and other free speech issues, with many links.

• Center for Democracy and Technology

Involved with practical solutions to privacy issues in the digital environment. Links to hot topics, issues, publications, legislation and reports.

• Coalition for Constitutional Liberties

Privacy rights from the conservative Free Congress Foundation.

• Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

A non-profit organization supporting First Amendment rights of cartoonists.

• Electronic Frontier Foundation

A non-profit group interested in protecting digital speech rights.

• First Amendment Center

A Vanderbilt University foundation featuring comprehensive, current First Amendment information, a First Amendment library, columnists and guest editorials.

• Freedom Forum Online

A nonpartisan foundation site with links to the front pages of the day's newspapers and other documents, upcoming events, and a "cybernewseum" of newspaper articles on famous events.

• Greater Knoxville Civil Liberties Alliance

Seeking to protect the public from the USA Patriot Act and make this area a "civil liberties safe zone".

• National Coalition Against Censorship

Free expression news, action alerts, project descriptions, and publications. Includes "Free Expression After September 11th - An Online Index."

• National Freedom of Information Coalition

A group of state freedom of information organizations, to which it links, including their individual newsletters.

• PEN American Center Freedom to Write

Worldwide news and links on freedom of expression, from a prestigious organization of writers and journalists.

• Privacy International

A watchdog for government and corporate surveillance, with latest news and documents.

• Project Censored

A research group and advocate for independent journalism, publisher of the yearbook Censored [2004]: the Top 25 Censored Stories (see "Reference Books" section above"). Includes links to the latest yearbooks and related sites.

• Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Prestigious non-profit organization on media and the law, with links to news and special reports, the First Amendment Handbook, and the Homefront Confidential, a semi-annual report on the war on terrorism versus the right to know.

• Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression

A non-profit center advocating free speech in the mass media, publishing, and the arts.

Web Sites

• Communicating Common Ground

an initiative to combat hate speech, from the California State University (Northridge) Department of Communication Studies.

• Cybercrime

U.S. Dept. of Justice site including "Dispelling the Myths about the USA Patriot Act" and information on cyberethics, as well as web links, news, updates, Congressional testimony, and speeches on cybercrime.

• Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)

A research center focusing on privacy and first amendment issues. Publisher of an award-winning newsletter (EPIC Alert), books and reports.

• Free Expression Policy Project

analysis of and news on issues such as art, censorship, history of censorship, internet speech, media violence, and more.

• Free Speech Movement Digital Archive

a bibliography, documents from the 1960's, and online audio/video resources on the famous student protests at the University of California, Berkeley.

• Index on Censorship

a highly acclaimed British site for news on free speech, with an index by country.

• John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies

sponsors programs on free press and free speech for the MTSU College of Mass Communication.

• Privacy & Civil Liberties

from the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, this site includes sections on news, government, consumer privacy, events, laws, and digital privacy.

• Society of Professional Journalists - Open Doors

Overview of finding government records through the Freedom of information (FOI) Act, including its history and sections on the FOI and the courts, privacy, and your life.

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