First, of all, I just want to say that it’s a little strange to be on the other side of the glass here at the Flexner reading group blog. For my first post I want to talk a little bit … Continue reading →

I have read “Burning Acts, Injurious Speech,” several times now, and I remain somewhat confused by the argument. Not unconvinced, but uncertain of how all the parts fit together. All speech is “excitable,” meaning that it is, at some level, … Continue reading →

Who or what should be held accountable, if at all, for injurious speech? In Judith Butler’s “Burning Acts, Injurious Speech,” she explains that while we think that we are subjects who are responsible for everything we say, in actuality, “a … Continue reading →

I have said many times in these blog entries that I am fortunate. Of course, being fortunate does not mean you never experience pain. Pain fades, however, and a little hurt you can get over. Harm, on the other hand, … Continue reading →

Having previously read MacKinnon’s work on pornography in relation to how liberalism undermines women’s rights, I was pleased to see Butler address MacKinnon’s theories in “Burning Acts, Injurious Speech.”  As far as we know, in 1997, Butler disagreed with MacKinnon’s … Continue reading →

“I want to suggest that the court’s speech carries with it its own violence, and that the very institution that is invested with the authority to adjudicate the problem of hate speech recirculates and redirects that hatred in and as its own highly consequential … Continue reading →