Independent Study: Free Speech on Campus
Professor Lee Epstein and Chancellor Andrew D. Martin
POLSCI 4913-05
Spring 2026
Description. For generations, controversies over free expression have rocked campuses across the United States. Over the course of four sessions, we’ll explore how the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of expression plays out in colleges and universities.
Book. The book for this course is Rebecca L. Brown, Lee Epstein, Adam Liptak, & Andrew D. Martin, Free Speech: A Campus Toolkit (CQ/Sage, 2026). The Chancellor is providing all enrolled students with a free copy of this book. If you haven’t already, please pick up your copy in North Brookings, #220 (the Chancellor’s suite).
Location. All four sessions will be help in North Brookings 220, in the Griffin Conference Room. If you can't attend in person, we'll supply a Zoom link.
Grading and Learning Outcomes. Click here
Office Hours. Please email Prof. Epstein, at epstein@wustl.edu, for an appointment.
Sessions and Assignments.
1. February 23, 2026: 5:00 pm-6:00 pm (central time)
Please read Free Speech: A Campus Toolkit, Chapter 1. We will apply the justifications for free speech to the case controversy at the end of the chapter (White Supremacist Speakers) on pp. 25-28.
The TA for this section is Caroline Piskurich (c.piskurich@wustl.edu). Feel free to email her with questions between February 16 and February 27.
Please begin reading Free Speech: A Campus Toolkit, Chapter 2 to prepare for the next session.
2. March 30, 2026: 5:30 pm-6:30 p.m. (central time)
Please read Free Speech: A Campus Toolkit, Chapter 2. We will apply the doctrine to the case controversy at the end of the chapter (University Hate Speech Codes) on pp. 96-101.
The TA for this section is Perri Wilson (perri@wustl.edu). Feel free to email her with questions between March 23 and March 29.
3. April 6, 2026: 5:00 pm-6:00 pm (central time)
Please read Free Speech: A Campus Toolkit, Chapter 3. We will consider how social science should inform campus speaker policies.
The TA for this section is Rebecca Bowman (bowman.r@wustl.edu). Feel free to email her with questions between March 30 and April 5.
Please begin reading Free Speech: A Campus Toolkit, Chapters 4 and 5 to prepare for the last session.
4. April 14, 2026: 4:30-5:30 pm (central time)
Please read Free Speech: A Campus Toolkit, Chapters 4 and 5. We will apply the lessons of the first three sessions to several new controveries.
The TA for this section is Alice Marron (a.marron@wustl.edu). Feel free to email her with questions between April 6 and April 17.
We are grateful to the Frick Initiative at Washington University
for its support of this course.