107 Charing Cross Road
London
WC2H 0DT
How should we address hateful speech? Some philosophers argue that we should focus on ways of speaking back, i.e. on so-called counter-speech. In this talk, Professor Maitra will discuss why we should prefer counter-speech as a response to hate speech, as well as the reasons for worrying that counter-speech is not effective as a response. Professor Maitra then turns to humour and its possibilities as a form of counter-speech, suggesting that (some) humour has the potential to avoid the pitfalls of other counter-speech, and so, may be effective where those other forms are not.
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About the speaker
Professor Ishani Maitra is based at the University of Michigan. Before that, she taught at Rutgers University (Newark and New Brunswick) and at Syracuse University. Professor Maitra works mainly in philosophy of language, feminist philosophy, and philosophy of law (though she's also interested in epistemology and social and political philosophy). She has published on assertion and testimony, silencing and pornography, and the right to free speech, among other topics.