Hosted by the London School of Economics and Political Science
In-person public event (Shaw Library, 6th floor, Old Building)
Thursday 05 Dec 2024 3pm - 4pm
Join us for this lecture by New York Times bestselling author Cass R. Sunstein in which he will argue that universities should broadly protect freedom of speech.
Speech should never be restricted or punished because some people find it illogical, distasteful, cruel, offensive, upsetting, wrong-headed, foolish, irreverent, or nonsensical. To promote learning, universities should seek to promote safe spaces not for feelings, but for a wide range of ideas. Universities are democracy’s greatest arsenal. They do not need the unanimity of the graveyard. They need the noisy, teeming pluralism of living communities that search for truth.
Meet our speaker and chair
New York Times bestselling author Cass R. Sunstein (@CassSunstein) is Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard, as well as founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. He is the co-author of Nudge and Noise.
Larry Kramer has been President and Vice Chancellor of LSE since April 2024. A constitutional scholar, university administrator, and philanthropic leader, he was previously the President of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Dean of Stanford Law School.
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LSE holds a wide range of events, covering many of the most controversial issues of the day, and speakers at our events may express views that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the position or views of the London School of Economics and Political Science.
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