Title: Hate Speech, Dignity, and the Westboro Baptist Church
Description: This thesis analyzes America’s approach to free speech and hate speech in comparison to international law. Focusing on 2011 Supreme Court case Snyder v. Phelps, I will discuss how the court’s approach to expression fails to comply with standard human rights norms. I will compare domestic and international approaches to hate speech, as well the harms of such expression to dignity. Additionally, I will trace the history of the Westboro Baptist Church, American definitions of hate speech, and the development of international law approaches to expression.