Safe space
Safe space refers to a location or forum where speech or materials deemed offensive and/or harmful to certain groups are not allowed. A safe space can be either physical or online. Sometimes, only members of certain groups are allowed in safe spaces.[1][2]
Usage
The Harvard Political Review published an article arguing that the term safe space has been used to refer to both emotional and academic safe spaces.[3]
Emotional safe space
A 2016 Slate article described emotional safe spaces as "extracurricular groups that are intended to be havens for historically marginalized students. Most students don’t expect classrooms to be places where they never encounter uncomfortable ideas, but they do reasonably expect campuses to be places where they feel welcome and, yes, safe."[4]
Academic safe space
Katherine Ho of the Harvard Political Review described academic safe spaces: "In this type of space, people are still made to feel uncomfortable, yet it’s “safe” to take intellectual risks and explore any line of thought. Here, “safety” protects your right to make others uncomfortable with ideas and rational arguments. It’s important to note that in this setting, free speech is the end goal. This type of safety is commonly emphasized in in [sic] classrooms and discussion groups, where open dialogue is particularly valuable."[3]
Footnotes
- ↑ Everyday Feminism, "6 Reasons Why We Need Safe Spaces," August 5, 2014
- ↑ New York Times, "In College and Hiding From Scary Ideas," March 22, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Harvard Politics, "Tackling the Term: What is a Safe Space?," January 30, 2017
- ↑ Slate, "U. Chicago Sent Incoming Freshmen a Letter Decrying Safe Spaces and Trigger Warnings," August 25, 2016
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