Foundations: Rights, History & Censorship
Session Number
1
Advisor(s)
Mr. Christopher Benson
Location
IN2 Learning Lab
Discipline
Business
Start Date
15-4-2026 10:15 AM
End Date
15-4-2026 11:00 AM
Abstract
Studying at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism has allowed us to access insight into graduate and undergraduate course material about journalism, law, code of ethics, and the Constitution. While working with our mentor and attending graduate-level classes, we moved to examine the First Amendment as a government-implemented structural safeguard to keep citizens controlled. As a result, political power’s role is to protect not only the freedom to speak, but the public’s “right to hear.” In alignment, censorship has also been operated to maintain unequal power structures, including: prohibiting the enrichment of enslaved people, suppression of abolitionist materials, removal of books from public libraries, and a banned words list compiled by our federal government. Holistically, these patterns illustrate how our government maintained entrenched systems of power. Our presentation also covers how modern-day understandings of inclusivity shift the dynamic of power. The shift occurs by expanding access to speech, highlighting marginalized voices, holding institutions accountable, redistributing the power to the citizens, to support an informed, democratic society. Book bans, curriculum restrictions, and the “parental rights movement” all limit exposure and aid in the erasure of key history and information, which eliminates challenging ideas and reinforces dominant narratives forced upon our society
Foundations: Rights, History & Censorship
IN2 Learning Lab
Studying at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism has allowed us to access insight into graduate and undergraduate course material about journalism, law, code of ethics, and the Constitution. While working with our mentor and attending graduate-level classes, we moved to examine the First Amendment as a government-implemented structural safeguard to keep citizens controlled. As a result, political power’s role is to protect not only the freedom to speak, but the public’s “right to hear.” In alignment, censorship has also been operated to maintain unequal power structures, including: prohibiting the enrichment of enslaved people, suppression of abolitionist materials, removal of books from public libraries, and a banned words list compiled by our federal government. Holistically, these patterns illustrate how our government maintained entrenched systems of power. Our presentation also covers how modern-day understandings of inclusivity shift the dynamic of power. The shift occurs by expanding access to speech, highlighting marginalized voices, holding institutions accountable, redistributing the power to the citizens, to support an informed, democratic society. Book bans, curriculum restrictions, and the “parental rights movement” all limit exposure and aid in the erasure of key history and information, which eliminates challenging ideas and reinforces dominant narratives forced upon our society