The Death of Discourse

by Ronald Collins, David Skover

Overview

This book explores one of the most disturbing intellectual dilemmas of our time — that our beloved First Amendment is being exploited in the name of the dumbing of America. It is the first book to examine the popular culture of the First Amendment, specifically with reference to television, advertising, and pornography. Comparing the culture of popular discourse with traditional First Amendment ideals, the authors expose the vast gap between our speech practices and our speech principles. Is the tyranny of the trivialization of discourse a problem? In a dialogue-like way, the authors invite their readers to judge.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781531025267
Publisher:	Carolina Academic Press
Publication date:	11/01/2022
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	394
Product dimensions:	6.13(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Ronald Collins was the Harold S. Shefelman Scholar at the University of Washington School Law (retired) and is the editor of First Amendment News.

David Skover is a Fredric C. Tausend Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law.

Editorial Reviews

"Professors Collins and Skover have written a provocative and important book, that was prescient in earlier editions and very timely now, about the meaning of freedom of expression when false speech is prevalent, when commercial interests dominate, and when pornography is easily accessible. Some might think of the Internet and social media as creating a golden age for free speech, but Collins and Skover powerfully suggest that instead we might be seeing the end of the discourse that the First Amendment exists to create and that is essential for a democracy. Their unique, thought-provoking writing style invites readers to ponder our cultural dilemma against the backdrop of the high principles of Madisonian discourse to which we claim allegiance in word, though not in practice."

Erwin Chemerinsky

"The Death of Discourse is literary dynamite ready to demolish the pomp and hypocrisy obstructing the proud edifice of the First Amendment. This book poses a clear and present danger in the most deserving sense."

Leonard W. Levy

"This is a disturbing yet mind-opening tour through the deep chasm that separates our free speech ideals from our cultural reality. The new edition — which by all rights could be titled We Warned You — brilliantly invokes up-to-date examples to show that modern American discourse is indeed suffocating under the spectacle of an entertainment and commercial culture obsessed with self-gratification. With their unique and prophetic talents, Collins and Skover have issued a sagacious warning that we ignore at our peril."

Jane Bambauer

"This is a significant and original scholarly work. Ronald Collins and David Skover boldly raise hard questions, both philosophical and practical, that are seldom considered by liberals or conservatives when discussing free speech. Why do we value freedom of speech and press? Do we dare discuss values and purposes, or is the case for free speech merely speech for speech's sake? What limits on freedom can be justified? As if this were not enough, Collins and Skover directly confront even more novel and difficult questions: What is becoming of the culture of discourse in America? What has become of the Madisonian experiment in freedom? How, if at all, do its profound purposes find expression in today's electronic and commercial marketplaces? Does the culture of mass and popular expression suggest new purposes, ones radically different from those envisioned by the Framers? Collins and Skover confront these questions, wrestle with them dauntlessly, and as a result give us a book that is a brilliant, cantakerous, vivid, provocative, and genuinely refreshing examination of freedom of expression in modern America. For Collins and Skover, there is great thrill in the Socratic chase as they cope with the complex issues they raise. Their book is written in crisp, readable English and is thoughtfully playful. It is an artful work that invites readers to consider the world of discourse as it was, is, and may be. The Death of Discourse is literary dynamite ready to demolish the pomp and hypocrisy obstructing the proud edifice of the First Amendment. This book poses a clear and present danger in the most deserving sense." — Leonard W. Levy, American historian, Pulitzer Prize recipient, and author of Emergence of a Free Press

From the Publisher