Toxic Speech, Free Expression and Content Moderation in Comparative Perspective

What it is about

You engage interdisciplinarily with toxic language, freedom of expression, and content moderation. In the end you will be able to explain different scientific conceptions of toxicity, place regulatory frameworks such as the US First Amendment and the EU Digital Services Act, and assess Western as well as non-Western moderation approaches comparatively.

What you will be able to do

• articulate different scientific conceptions of toxicity
• demonstrate knowledge of regulatory frameworks (e.g., First Amendment, DSA)
• develop a research project
• formulate a clear research question and work with existing data/analyze tools
• critically compare Western and non-Western approaches to moderation of toxic language

What the module consists of

• SeminarStructure as a research project seminar: joint development and execution of a research project from conceptualization to reporting phase

Teaching method

• Research project seminarpromotes cooperative project work, application of theory to empirical questions
• Literature review and short presentationsclarification of central terms and disciplinary perspectives
• Presentations and group workdevelopment of research designs and joint elaboration of a final paper