Yeah Nah Pasaran! #008 w Evan Smith on No Platform : March 5, 2020

On this week’s episode of Yeah Nah, we talk to Evan Smith about his upcoming book No Platform: A History of Anti-Fascism, Universities and the Limits of Free Speech (Routledge, 2020):

This book is the first to outline the history of the tactic of ‘no platforming’ at British universities since the 1970s, looking at more than four decades of student protest against racist and fascist figures on campus.

The tactic of ‘no platforming’ has been used at British universities and colleges since the National Union of Students adopted the policy in the mid-1970s. The author traces the origins of the tactic from the militant anti-fascism of the 1930s–1940s and looks at how it has developed since the 1970s, being applied to various targets over the last 40 years, including sexists, homophobes, right-wing politicians and Islamic fundamentalists. This book provides a historical intervention in the current debates over the alleged free speech ‘crisis’ perceived to be plaguing universities in Britain, as well as North America and Australasia.

You can follow Evan on Twitter here and read his terrific blog New Historical Express here.

See also : The university ‘free speech crisis’ has been a rightwing myth for 50 years, Evan Smith, The Guardian, February 22, 2020 | 45 Years On: The History and Continuing Importance of ‘No Platform’, Evan Smith, New Socialist, April 18, 2019.

4.30pm, Thursday, March 5, 2020 /// 3CR /// 855AM / streaming live on the 3CR website

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