Date
02/03/04
Contact:
FOIFT office, (214) 977-6658
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The
First Amendment Institute Announces 2004 Schedule
The
First Amendment Institute, an annual program of the Freedom
of Information Foundation of Texas, has set the following
schedule for it's 2004 class sessions.
First
in the series will be a study of the freedom of speech, March
5-6 in Dallas. The session will focus on establishing theoretical
justifications for free speech and introduce the jurisprudential
foundations of First Amendment cases involving free expression.
The program is designed to introduce the timeless concepts
that give free speech its robust constitutional protection
while bringing the questions of today and even tomorrow into
focus. Faculty will be Dr. Charles N. Davis, executive director,
Freedom of Information Center and associate professor, News-Editorial
sequence at the University of Missouri School of Journalism,
and Dr. Paul H. Gates, Jr., associate professor, Department
of Communication, Appalachian State University.
The
freedom of the press session will take place in San Antonio
May 14-15, and examine the questions, ‘who or what is “the
press,” and does the Constitution require it to be either
responsible or fair?' Discussion will center on current challenges
to press freedom, and group members will debate the real meaning
of the fundamental Constitutional right of this freedom. Dr.
Susan Ross, associate professor, Edward R. Murrow School of
Communication, Washington State University, and Dr. Amy Reynolds,
Assistant Professor, School of Journalism, Indiana University
will conduct the session.
On
July 23-24, in Houston, Dr. Ronald B. Flowers, John F. Weatherly
Professor of Religion, Department of Religion, Texas Christian
University, and Dr. Derek H. Davis,
Director, J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies, Baylor
University , will explore the age-old discussion of
church-state separation in the session on freedom of religion.
After a historical understanding is established, the issues
will be studied in context of the current climate of our renewed
patriotism and the passionate debates it produces among the
citizenship.
The
FAI will conclude in Austin, September 29-30, as Mr. Richard
J. Peltz, associate professor of law, William H. Bowen School
of Law, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and Dr. Kathleen
K. Olson, Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism and
Communication, Lehigh University, guide the class through
its final session. The freedoms of assembly and petition are
the oft-overlooked siblings of the freedoms of religion and
speech, but the Supreme Court has viewed these rights as equally
important to the fundamental right of free expression that
underlies each of the First Amendment guarantees. As government
influence over the private sector has grown to implement civil
rights initiatives, these rights have arisen as central issues
in modern conflict s.
FAI will give the rights of assembly and petition their due
in an exploration of these issues and more.
The
opportunity to participate in this yearlong study of the First
Amendment is open to all. If you are interested in applying
for the 2005 class, or sponsoring a member of your staff or
organization, please contact the FOIFT offices at 214-977-6658,
via e-mail at foift@airmail.net or visit our web site at www.foift.org.
The
FOIFT is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization supported through
grants and tax deductible donations from private citizens,
corporations and foundations.
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