What Does Democracy Feel Like?

<p><!-- wp:heading --></p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">John Emmerson and the history of freedom of speech in 17th century England</h2> <p><!-- /wp:heading --></p> <p><!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p><em>Speaker: Dr Ruby Lowe</em></p> <p><!-- /wp:paragraph --></p> <p><!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p>In State Library Victoria there sits a formidable collection of parliamentary speeches and ephemera from the English Civil Wars, Revolution and Republic (1642–1660). These pamphlets tell the history of the emergence of a democratic model of Freedom of Speech in the English – speaking world and were massed by Melbourne collector John Emmerson QC (1938–2014). Dr Ruby Lowe will trace the 17th – century debates over who had the right to Freedom of Speech and propose that we should understand<br />Emmerson’s practice of collecting cheap print as based in a 17th century model of purchasing and experiencing the news.</p> <p><strong>Presented by: Rare Books Melbourne and Merri – Bek Libraries</strong><br />at Brunswick Library, 233 Sydney Road, Brunswick</p> <p><!-- /wp:paragraph --></p>