Is speech a driver of intergroup violence? Is counterspeech an effective response to hatred?

On February 1, 2022, Executive Director Susan Benesch and Director of Research Cathy Buerger spoke to the Bard Center for the Study of Hate on two recently released publications, reviewing and evaluating the literature on two important questions: Is speech a driver of intergroup violence? And is counterspeech an effective response to hatred?

The Bard Center for the Study of Hate (BCSH) works to increase the serious study of human hatred, and ways to combat it. The Center supports faculty and students throughout the Bard network who want to study and/or combat hatred and its various manifestations, and brings scholars from diverse disciplines to Bard College and all of its campuses to speak about the human capacity to hate and demonize others. It places, mentors, and supports students working at internships with nongovernmental organizations that combat hate, and funds students at Bard whose Senior Projects relate to the study of hate and who need additional resources for their research. BCSH seeks to impact public discussion about hatred nationally and internationally. The Center is a program of Bard’s Human Rights Project.