Truth, Autonomy, and Speech

Feminist Theory and the First Amendment

By: Susan Williams

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Hardcover | 14 July 2004

At a Glance

Hardcover
317 Pages

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23.5 x 16.51 x 3.18

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Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Titles 2005 Winner
Amidst the vast array of literature on the First Amendment, it is rare to hear a fresh voice speak about the First Amendment, but in Truth, Autonomy, and Speech, Susan H. Williams presents a strikingly original interpretation and defense of the First Amendment, written from a feminist perspective. Drawing on work from several disciplines-including law, political theory, philosophy, and anthropology-the book develops alternative accounts of truth and autonomy as the foundations for freedom of expression. Building on feminist understandings of self and the social world, Williams argues that both truth and autonomy are fundamentally relational.
With great clarity and insight, Williams demonstrates that speech is the means by which we create rather than discover truth and the primary mechanism through which we tell the stories that constitute our autonomy. She examines several controversial issues in the law of free speech-including campaign finance reform, the public forum doctrine, and symbolic speech-and concludes that the legal doctrine through which we interpret and apply the First Amendment should be organized to protect speech that serves the purposes of truth and autonomy.

Industry Reviews

"[William's] theory is elegant in its explication and provocative in its implications for government restrictions on speech ranging from the hateful, the symbolic, the politically subversive, and the costly. A must read." Choice, "Meticulously argued and clearly organized, her account of free speech is both fundamentally feminist and optimistic." The Law and Politics Book Review "What emerges from this well-written work of careful scholarship is an important contribution to free speech literature." Frederick Schauer, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Society & Culture Social Issues & Processes Feminism & Feminist Theory Politics & Government Political Control & Freedoms Human Rights Civil Rights & Citizenship Political Science & Theory Religious Freedom & Freedom of Worship Law Laws of Specific Jurisdictions

Constitutional & Administrative Law

Foundations	p. 11
The theoretical foundations of the law of free expression : truth and autonomy	p. 13
Philosophical foundations : Cartesianism and liberalism	p. 32
Without foundations	p. 49
The feminist critique	p. 51
The feminist dilemma	p. 71
Reconstruction	p. 93
Reconstructing truth	p. 95
Reconstructing autonomy	p. 130
Speech	p. 173
Free speech and truth	p. 175
Free speech and narrative autonomy	p. 199
Conclusion : the enlightenment vision and the interpretive approach	p. 231
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

Truth, Autonomy, and Speech

Feminist Theory and the First Amendment

At a Glance

Hardcover

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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