{"title":"Exempting the university: Trigger warnings and intellectual space","authors":"Jeremiah Hickey","doi":"10.1080/21689725.2016.1233073","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In the controversy over trigger warnings, authors tend to focus more on the warning rather than the trigger aspect of the debate. Trigger warnings serve as an important means to understand the nature of universities as well as how students, professors, and administrators view the university experience. I contend that trigger warnings should be seen as campus-wide interventions, not limited only to classrooms. After all, trauma can be triggered anywhere. This article argues that the trigger warnings controversy signifies the presence of an institutional crisis for universities, especially in relation to the allocation of resources necessary to help students suffering from trauma. Debating the use of trigger warnings is one thing; however, if students feel threatened or if they suffer trauma from controversial material, then the university needs to set aside resources to help students succeed.","PeriodicalId":37756,"journal":{"name":"First Amendment Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2016-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/21689725.2016.1233073","citationCount":"8","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"First Amendment Studies","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21689725.2016.1233073","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"Social Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 8
Abstract
Abstract In the controversy over trigger warnings, authors tend to focus more on the warning rather than the trigger aspect of the debate. Trigger warnings serve as an important means to understand the nature of universities as well as how students, professors, and administrators view the university experience. I contend that trigger warnings should be seen as campus-wide interventions, not limited only to classrooms. After all, trauma can be triggered anywhere. This article argues that the trigger warnings controversy signifies the presence of an institutional crisis for universities, especially in relation to the allocation of resources necessary to help students suffering from trauma. Debating the use of trigger warnings is one thing; however, if students feel threatened or if they suffer trauma from controversial material, then the university needs to set aside resources to help students succeed.
期刊介绍:
First Amendment Studies publishes original scholarship on all aspects of free speech and embraces the full range of critical, historical, empirical, and descriptive methodologies. First Amendment Studies welcomes scholarship addressing areas including but not limited to: • doctrinal analysis of international and national free speech law and legislation • rhetorical analysis of cases and judicial rhetoric • theoretical and cultural issues related to free speech • the role of free speech in a wide variety of contexts (e.g., organizations, popular culture, traditional and new media).