Testing Tolerance : Addressing Controversy in the Journalism and Mass Communication Classroom

This book aims to answer the question, “In what ways can we create a campus atmosphere where academics engage with controversial material and have civil conversations about differing perspectives?” Chapters include tips for how to navigate issues that may impact media professionals and instructors teaching these developing professionals.

Tough topics are inescapable for journalism and mass communication academics. If it’s in the news, journalism and mass communication instructors have to discuss it in class. This volume brings together a broad range of perspectives, from graduate students to deans, in conversation about ways to address tough topics in and out of the university classroom.



This book helps journalism and mass communication instructors navigate today’s toughest topics through discussions of the issues and pertinent terminology and by giving hands-on exercises and practical advice for instructors at all levels of the university. Chapters address issues ranging from student mental health to handling campus free speech controversies as an administrator to addressing sexual assault and harassment, racial and ethnic inequality, disability, and other issues in the classroom. Using case studies ranging from #MeToo to the president’s tweets to student mental health crises, this book aims to become an essential reference for professors tackling tough topics in the classroom. Through these chapters, readers will gain an understanding of the issues and will be given tools to address these topics in sensitive, yet forthright, ways.