Finding Yourself and Creating Your Voice: Speech and Resilience for a Complicated World

Catalog description

'Finding (and Creating) Your Voice' in the legal system involves being able to not only recognize all sides of an issue, but ultimately, to also articulate a position/argument that is persuasive. This voice might also be one that involves the ability to mediate and/or negotiate an outcome. These skills require an understanding of how the law deals with speech and how telling a compelling story is at the heart of 'practicing' within the legal system. In addition, one's effectiveness in finding and creating a voice is also directly connected to one's overall self-awareness, resilience, courage, curiosity, creativity, capacity to listen and leadership style, among other factors. In this course, students will have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of how the law handles speech, with a focus on the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution. This understanding will be undergirded by a consideration of (and ultimately a greater appreciation for) the difference between what can legally be said versus what 'should' be said in a particular situation. Students will be invited to practice how to civilly and compassionately disagree with someone, particularly a peer, while identifying and exploring their personal values, reconciling these values with how they find, create and use their voice at Duke and beyond.