Book banning

1. Book banning In American public schools and libraries Susan Davidson November 28, 2012

2. Book banning throughout history • 387 B.C.: Plato suggested that the works of Homer should be expurgated(objectionable parts removed) for young readers, “because, of course, there was no way to control how certain information might be received” • 1650: first book burning in America—William Pynchon’s pamphlet The Meritorious Price of Our Redemption • History of the U.S. is rife with examples of censorship: “There may have been more censorship, self-imposed or otherwise, during the nineteenth century in England and the United States than during all the preceding centuries of printed literature”

3. Defining challenges and Bans • “A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice.” —American Library Association

4. Library bill of rights • Library Bill of Rights, Article 3: librarians must “challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment” • “Free Access to Libraries for Minors”: librarians “have a public and professional obligation to ensure that all members of the community they serve have free, equal, and equitable access to the entire range of library resources. . . . This principle of library service applies equally to all users, minors as well as adults”

5. Who challenges books?

6. Where are books challenged?

7. Why are books challenged? • Social, political, religious, and sexual grounds

8. What books are challenged? According to the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, at least 46 of the Radcliffe Publishing Course’s top 100 novels of the 20th century have been challenged. Nine of the top ten books have been targeted: 1. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald 2. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger 3. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck 4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee 5. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker 6. Ulysses, by James Joyce 7. Beloved, by Toni Morrison 8. The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding 9. 1984, by George Orwell

9. Challenges on social grounds • Books challenged on social grounds are “censored because their subject matter and characters do not conform to the social, racial, or sexual standards of their censors” • Examples of books challenged on social grounds: • Brave New World • Catch-22 • The Catcher in the Rye • The Great Gatsby • Little House on the Prairie • To Kill a Mockingbird • Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

10. The Adventures of huckleberry finnby Mark twain (1884) • Iconic children’s book about Huck Finn’s journey up the Mississippi River in search of freedom with his friend the escaped slave Jim • Challenged since its first publication for its “street” language and the fear that “Huck’s rascally example would exert a dangerous moral influence on the young” • In 1957 challenged by the NAACP for racist contentand language • As recently as 2007, parents in Minneapolis challenged the book’s place on a high-school required reading list due to racist language, but the book was retained

11. And Tango makes Three by justinrichardson and Peter parnell (2005) • True story of two male penguins living in the Central Park Zoo who together adopt an egg and raise the chick • Most frequently challenged book of 2007, 2008, and 2010 • Challengers assert that it is offensive and that its homosexual theme makes it inappropriate for young readers • Many school and public libraries have received challenges requesting that the book be removed from the shelves or relocated to restricted shelves

12. The American heritage dictionary of the English language • Comprehensive, respected English-language dictionary with more than 170,000 entries • June 1976: parents demanded the dictionary be removed from classrooms in Alaska, due to offensive entries for words such as “bed” • Also in 1976, the Texas State Textbook Commission banned five dictionaries from being purchased because of “obscene” definitions

13. Challenges on political grounds • National governments and local community members challenge books on political grounds to defend their own political values and silence negative portrayals of their countries or governments • Examples of books challenged on political grounds: • Black Boy • The Grapes of Wrath • 1984 • The Things They Carried • Uncle Tom’s Cabin

14. Slaughterhouse-five by kurt Vonnegut (1969) • Follows American Billy Pilgrim’s experiences as a World War II POW who witnesses the Allied bombing of Dresden, while also moving back and forth in time to Billy’s past and future, including an encounter with aliens • Considered a satiric antiwar book, challengers call it ‘an indictment of war [that] criticizes government actions, is anti-American, and is unpatriotic’ and also object to its sexual content, offensive language, and violence • Pico v. Island Trees Board of Education (1977)

15. I am the cheese by robertcormier (1977) • Tells the story of Adam Farmer, whose family has been placed in the Witness Protection Program, as he bikes across New England in order to visit his father in the hospital, all the while uncovering memories of his past and his family’s history • Challengers object to offensive language, sexual content, and ‘subversive theme . . . which makes the “government agents” out to be devious’ • April 1986: Mother and grandparents of Florida middle-school student challenged book, and superintendent of local school district decided to ban book and establish extremely restrictive book approval policy • Farrell v. Hall (1987): argued that review policy denied students their First Amendment rights and asked for banned books to be reinstated

16. Challenges on religious grounds • Religious censorship is one of the oldest and most pervasive forms of censorship • While government officials cannot ban books for religious reasons, individuals and religious groups in the United States seek to ban books and textbooks that they consider anti-Christian or immoral • Examples of books challenged on religious grounds: • The Golden Compass • The Witches • The Bible • Impressions reading series (a textbook series)

17. Harry potter and the sorcerer’s stone by J. K. Rowling (1997) • First of seven novels about the boy wizard Harry Potter and his continuing battle against the evil Voldemort • Challengers allege that the books promote the occult, witchcraft, and Satanism • 125 attempts between 1999 and 2003 to restrict access to or remove Harry Potter books from schools or libraries • In 2001–03, the books were burned or shredded by fundamentalist Christian groups in Pennsylvania, Maine, New Mexico, and Michigan

18. On the origin of species by charlesdarwin (1859) • Written by naturalist Charles Darwin based on his observations of nature, argues for evolution through the process of natural selection • Faced immediate controversy over Darwin’s challenge to “the literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis” • In the early 20th century in the United States, school boards were pressured to reject science textbooks that taught evolution and antievolution laws were established in many states (finally overturned by the Supreme Court in 1968) • Rather than banning the book itself, it is usually the book’s ideas that are censored • Vehement challenges to textbooks that teach evolution continue today

19. Challenges on sexual grounds • Challenges to books due to sexual content or perceived obscenity are common • Examples of books challenged on sexual grounds: • The Clan of the Cave Bear • Madame Bovary • The Perks of Being a Wallflower • Song of Solomon • Ulysses • Gossip Girl series

20. Forever by judyBlume (1975) • Story about first love and sexual desire between teenagers • Banned because of detailed sexual content and “perceived frequency of the sexual activity in the novel,” as well as the idea that it “demoralizes marital sex” • Subject of challenges across the country throughout the 1980s and 1990s • 2009: Parents of students in Florida asked school officials to remove book due to ‘a distorted view of sex, promiscuity’

21. Sophie’s Choice by William Styron (1979) • Winner of the National Book Award in 1980, tells the story of Sophie—who survived the Nazi concentration camps, but is haunted by her painful past—and Nathan, a paranoid-schizophrenic Jewish man • Challengers cite profanities and “extreme sexual content” • September 2001: After a parent complained, the book was removed from a California high school library, but students fought the ban with the help of the ACLU and the book was reinstated

22. Twilight by stepheniemeyer (2005) • Popular series of young adult romance novels about the love between a human teenager and a vampire • Condemned not because of open depictions of sexual conduct—the Mormon author took a pro-abstinence stand in the books—but because of the “perceived erotic undercurrent” • Others objected to the “presence of vampires as role models” • October 2008: School official ordered that the books in the series be removed from middle schools and placed in high-school libraries, though the decision was quickly reversed

23. Self-censorship among authors and publishers • When authors face constant criticism for including particular words and passages in a previous book, they may question the addition of similarly problematic material to an upcoming project • Publishers who have faced book banning may recommend changes to avoid challenges, or refuse to publish a book that they fear may spark controversy “The real evil from such censorship is the story not written, the paragraph omitted, the sentence changed in order to pacify the bookbanners”

24. Self-censorship among librarians • School Library Journal survey: “70 percent of librarians say they won’t buy certain controversial titles simply because they’re terrified of how parents will respond” • Librarians remove, “lose,” or restrict access to controversial titles to preempt challenges • ALA only keeps records on written challenges to books, so it is almost impossible to know how much self-censorship takes place among librarians, though many believe it is a pervasive problem

25. What can we do? • Public schools and libraries enact policies and build review committees that help them both to select books for their collections and reading lists and to deal with any resulting challenges • Librarians must have a thorough, up-to-date knowledge of these selection procedures in order to appropriately respond to complaints • Librarians must also have a strong sense of professional ethics that bolsters their resolve in the face of challenges from parents and school or library officials, and prevents them from participating in self-censorship to avoid conflict • Librarians facing a challenge should report it to the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, which can also provide them with advice and support