Navigating censorship: Workers at the front line
Monday August 7, 2023
10:00 -11:30am
Whittier Room, Park Plaza Hotel, Boston, MA
PANELISTS
Erynn Beaton
Associate Professor, John Glenn College of Public Affairs
The Ohio State University
Maura Deedy
Library Advisor Specialist
Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners
Ra'Shaun Nalls
Director of Community Engagement, T.C. Chan School of Public Health
Harvard University
James E. Wright II
Assistant Professor, Askew School of Public Administration, Florida State University
Co-Director, Social Justice Innovation Lab
Organized and moderated by:
Amy E. Smith, University of Massachusetts Boston
Deneen M. Hatmaker, University of Connecticut
Russell Hassan, The Ohio State University
Frontline workers increasingly find themselves embroiled in very public debates and controversies focused on censorship. In recent years challenges to intellectual freedom, speech censorship, calls to ban books, constraints on academic curricula, and the regulation of social media participation have intensified. These demands originate from a multitude of sources, including citizens, elected officials and government agencies. While these restrictions are hotly contested in the policy arena, it is those on the frontlines - librarians, teachers, health care providers, social workers and many other public and nonprofit, and even for-profit, employees – that must navigate this censorship in their day-to-day work. Placing employees front and center requires attention to the impact of such constraints on frontline workers. How do these essential workers navigate this quagmire while serving constituents, maintaining their professional values and working towards their organizational mission?
This panel will explore how censorship and restrictions on intellectual freedom manifest in organizations and professions and what this means for public and nonprofit workers. Questions and audience discussion to follow. This session is open to all #AOM2023 conference attendees.
Sponsorship was provided by the University of Connecticut School of Public Policy.