Censorship

(Hardback)

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Description

Ever since the Bill of Rights became the cornerstone on which individual Americans' rights and liberties rest, the practical realities of honoring the grand principles of the First Amendment have been hotly contested, and none more so than freedom of expression. From governmental limits on robust, even vicious, colonial- and Federal-era newspaper attacks to the USA PATRIOT Act to efforts to rein in the vast and anarchic Internet, the First Amendment protection of free expression has been virtually under siege by various forms of censorship, some clearly pernicious and others evidently benign. This book guides the reader through these many-faceted historical controversies, always with an eye toward contemporary and future challenges.

Reviews

Paxton focuses on six key areas: freedom of expression and its limits, wartime media, books, visual and performing arts, sexually explicit material, and regulation of student expression. The final chapter explores the future of censorship in each of these areas, given recent changes in society and technological advances. Writing in clear, accessible language, Paxton highlights the prevalence of censorship in today's society by juxtaposing censorship's historical context with more contemporary issues. Sadly, not much has changed. In its numerous manifestations, censorship remains an outgrowth of governmental and societal attempts to control and regulate behavior in the name of protecting society as a whole. The delicate balance between freedom and protection informs Paxton's approach to the topic. The volume includes a brief time line of censorship and an extensive bibliography of books, articles, and relevant court cases. This is an excellent resource for undergraduates starting their exploration of this topic or readers looking to place censorship in a historical context. Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and general readers. * Choice *

Author Bio

MARK PAXTON is a professor in the Department of Media, Journalism and Film at Missouri State University, where he has taught since 1995. He has written extensively on First Amendment issues, particularly as they apply to college media and students' freedom of expression, and he has been active in the American Civil Liberties Union for two decades. Before entering academia, Professor Paxton was a reporter and news editor for the Associated Press and for newspapers in West Virginia and Tennessee.