In this engaging interview, John D. Inazu identifies confident pluralism as the way for us to thrive in connection even when divided by deep differences. Since our differences are not just going to go away, we need to learn to live with others with whom we do not agree. Inazu explains that tolerance, humility, and patience are the foundational…

Heated battles over free speech have erupted on college campuses across the United States in recent months. Some of the most prominent incidents involve efforts by students to prevent public appearances by speakers espousing controversial viewpoints. Efforts to silence offensive speakers on college campuses are not new; in these endeavors, one can…

In this column, the author reviews books and other resources that address issues related to teaching tolerance for those of other religions, races, gender orientations, and cultures. It reviews titles related to Jewish oppression, including Doreen Rappaport's (2012) "Beyond Courage, the Untold Story of Jewish Resistance during the…

Extending an important rhetorical tradition of investigating women's positioning/positionalities in the national imaginary, in society, and in the law, this essay examines how non-US citizen women and their experiences are deployed toward objectives of the US state. Specifically, I analyze the rhetorical significance of two precedent-setting…

Jeremy Waldron, a professor of social and political theory at University of Oxford and also a professor of law at New York University, contends that laws against hate speech deserve further consideration, even if he doubts they "will ever pass constitutional muster in America." He contends that "The Harm in Hate Speech," as his…

This article attempts a contrast to the contribution by Hugh Starkey. Rather than his account of the inexorable rise of human rights discourse, and of the implementation of human rights standards, human rights are here presented as always and necessarily scandalous and highly contested. First, I explain why the UK has lagged so far behind its…

The principle of age-appropriateness is widespread throughout government policy and nongovernment practice guidelines, but the exact meaning of the term is rarely defined. It is commonly assumed to mean activities and approaches commensurate with an individual's chronological age. Dress, furnishing, object selection, and the style of interactions,…

What are the prospects for joining religious education and human rights education? (1) Human rights educators may cite good historical and philosophical reasons for teaching about human rights without making any reference whatsoever to a religious foundation. (2) For their part, many religious communities have resisted opportunities to form…

This essay uses the controversial "Ashley Treatment" to argue that normative body rhetorics have become untethered from and more influential than traditional medical perspectives in determinations about surgical intervention. While disagreeing greatly over the ethics of the "Treatment," both its supporters and critics construct rhetorics of a…

Agnes Tellings rightly observes that adolescents, if compared with pre-pubescent children, are much more capable of making their own choices and therefore should be granted much more freedom to arrange their own lives. However, the capacity of adolescents to make prudent choices still seems to be below the threshold of competence. Therefore,…

Comments on the article by G. Herek, "Legal recognition of same-sex relationships in the United States: A social science perspective." Herek provided a useful overview of psychological research relevant to the legal recognition of same-sex marriages. Another avenue of advocacy that the American Psychological Association could undertake…

This paper serves as a broad introduction to Disabilities Studies in Education (DSE). The emergence of DSE over the last decade has resulted in a vibrant area of academic scholarship as well as a critical forum for social/educational advocacy and activism. First, the authors trace the roots of DSE in the growth of disability studies (DS) within…

Background: At the heart of this polemic lies the view that contemporary research in PE and Health (PEH) has largely overlooked one of the key determinants of social behaviour, social class and its expression in and outside schools; an omission that has quite serious consequences for how we (researchers and teachers) think about and conceptualise…

Discusses the problems faced by homosexuals in American society due to misconceptions, fear, and bigotry. Reviews the roles of politicians, organized religion, and the press in perpetuating discrimination against homosexuals and stresses the need for gay individuals to openly declare their sexual orientation in order to dispel secrecy and…

This article discusses the Canadian Civil Liberties Education Trust (CCLET). For many years, the CCLET has been in the business of working with teachers, teacher-candidates, students in grade two through university, and even with those in law schools, to engage them in making choices about controversial issues. CCLET proposes a structural approach…