Free Expression: Online Classes

All the course below are free to take. Most have the option to pay for a certification.

All Links Open in New Tab

Brief Overview

  • Freedom of Expression – A Fundamental Right by Amnesty International: “This short course will equip you with the knowledge to understand and claim your right to freedom of expression, and the skills and confidence to take action to defend it. Learn from the experts at Amnesty International how to claim and defend your rights in this human rights course. You will be challenged to think critically and devise effective actions to defend the human rights of others. You will be able to adapt the human rights of freedom of expression, association and assembly to real life situations and come face-to-face with human rights activists on the front line of human rights defense.”
  • Speaking Out for Freedom of Expression by Amnesty International: “By the end of this course you will be able to: 1. Explain what the right to freedom of expression is; 2. Outline common threats to freedom of expression; 3. Take action to defend and promote the right to freedom of expression.”

Advanced

  • American Government – Constitutional Foundations via edX: “Learn how early American politics informed the U.S. Constitution and why its promise of liberty and equality has yet to be fully realized.”
  • The Case for Radically Free Speech – FIRE: “In this course, you’ll learn about how the right to freedom of speech has evolved over human history, how it promotes peace in society and uplifts minority voices, and why censorship is never the answer to dissident speech.”
  • Civil Liberties by Princeton University via edX: “Explore the moral basis of controversial claims of civil rights and liberties by carefully considering the evidence and reasons presented by notable thinkers and in groundbreaking Supreme Court opinions.”
  • Constitutional Law – Individual Rights and Liberties by University of California, Irvine via Coursera: “Individual Rights and Liberties will highlight the construction and interpretation of the U.S. Constitution through the centuries with an emphasis on protections of individual liberties and the evolution of equal protection. You’ll learn the history behind the Constitution, cases that formed important precedent, and how changes in interpretation have been dependent on shifts in cultural and political climate as well as the composition of the Supreme Court.”
  • The History of Free Speech – FIRE: “[T]his is a history course, not a bit of partisan activism. Like any good history course, we don’t start with the answer (“free speech is always clear and good”) and then develop a narrative that supports that answer. Instead, we start with much more open-ended questions, like “What is free speech?” and “How did ancient and premodern societies conceive of speech?” and “What modern developments have impacted free speech in the Western world?” Answering questions like these should give us some perspective on new free speech questions raised by 21st-century technologies. We hope you’ll find that the answers we put forward contain all the rigor, nuance, and possibility you’d expect.”