Overview

Freedom of speech is a right that Americans hold dear, but what of the freedom not to speak - the right to remain silent when commanded by Church and State, the right not to sign an oath, not to salute a flag, not to assert a belief in God, or not to reveal one's political beliefs and associations? Should, for instance, a special prosecutor be able to compel a parent to testify about, and incriminate, his or her own child? This book traces the history of the freedom not to speak from the Middle Ages to the 20th century and the House Committee on Un-American Activities. It addresses the Civil War and Reconstruction loyalty oaths by Union Confederate soldiers, and the expulsion of Jehovah's Witnesses from schools for refusing to salute the flag, and includes an analysis of coerced speech in a variety of literary works. The author also considers the future of this right to silence, and argues for the importance of a specifically labelled and firmly established freedom not to speak.

Full Product Details

9780814712979

Table of Contents

Reviews

Taken all together, the chapters offer an important, theoretically rich introduction to disability issues. - Novel , Davis's work offers creative and challenging examples that may be useful to our discipline and particularly to Disability historians. Bending Over Backwards remains an important and useful work for historians as a template for examining the myriad ways disability and Deafness infiltrate vital aspects of our identity, including laws, cultural icons, literature, and citizenship. - H-Net Reviews , [Its] uniqueness of thought is this collection's strength as it makes for an interesting and proactive read. - American Journal of Occupational Therapy , Bending Over Backwards is a welcome dismemberment of all that was unknowingly artificial from the start. - The Minnesota Review , Lennard Davis is history in the making; for he is one of the foremost proponents of disability studies, the newest theoretical kid on the block, noteworthy in part because it brings together scholars from the humanities and the medical sciences. -Stanley Fish, in Chicago Tribune

"""""Bending Over Backwards"" is a welcome dismemberment of all that was unknowingly artificial from the start.""-""The Minnesota Review"", ""[Its] uniqueness of thought is this collection's strength as it makes for an interesting and proactive read."" -""American Journal of Occupational Therapy"", ""Davis's work offers creative and challenging examples that may be useful to our discipline and particularly to Disability historians. ""Bending Over Backwards"" remains an important and useful work for historians as a template for examining the myriad ways disability and Deafness infiltrate vital aspects of our identity, including laws, cultural icons, literature, and citizenship.""-""H-Net Reviews"", ""Lennard Davis is history in the making; for he is one of the foremost proponents of ""disability studies,"" the newest theoretical kid on the block, noteworthy in part because it brings together scholars from the humanities and the medical sciences.""-Stanley Fish, in ""Chicago Tribune"" ""Taken all together, the chapters offer an important, theoretically rich introduction to disability issues.""-""Novel"","

<p> Taken all together, the chapters offer an important, theoretically rich introduction to disability issues. - Novel ,

Author Information

Haig Bosmajian is Professor of Speech Communication at the University of Washington.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available