Free Speech Beyond Words: The Surprising Reach of the First

Free Speech Beyond Words: The Surprising Reach of the First Amendment

A look at First Amendment coverage of music, non-representational art, and nonsense

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The Supreme Court has unanimously held that Jackson Pollockâ€™s paintings, Arnold SchÃ¶enbergâ€™s music, and Lewis Carrollâ€™s poem â€œJabberwockyâ€ are â€œunquestionably shieldedâ€ by the First Amendment. Nonrepresentational art, instrumental music, and nonsense: all receive constitutional coverage under an amendment protecting â€œthe freedom of speech,â€ even though none involves what we typically think of as speechâ€”the use of words to convey meaning.Â Â

As a legal matter, the Courtâ€™s conclusion is clearly correct, but its premises are murky, and they raise difficult questions about the possibilities and limitations of law and expression. Nonrepresentational art, instrumental music, and nonsense do not employ language in any traditional sense, and sometimes do not even involve the transmission of articulable ideas. How, then, can they be treated as â€œspeechâ€ for constitutional purposes? What does the difficulty of that question suggest for First Amendment law and theory? And can law resolve such inquiries without relying on aesthetics, ethics, and philosophy? Â

Comprehensive and compelling, this book represents a sustained effort to account, constitutionally, for these modes of â€œspeech.â€ While it is firmly centered in debates about First Amendment issues, it addresses them in a novel way, using subject matter that is uniquely well suited to the task, and whose constitutional salience has been under-explored. Drawing on existing legal doctrine, aesthetics, and analytical philosophy, three celebrated law scholars show us how and why speech beyond words should be fundamental to our understanding of the First Amendment.
Country USA
Brand NYU Press
Manufacturer NYU Press
Binding Hardcover
ReleaseDate 2017-02-14
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781479880287

Country	USA
Brand	NYU Press
Manufacturer	NYU Press
Binding	Hardcover
ReleaseDate	2017-02-14
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781479880287

Free Speech Beyond Words: The Surprising Reach of the First Amendment

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