Campus Read-out: Banned Books Week
| Date/Time: | Wednesday, 25 Sep 2013 from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm |
|---|---|
| Location: | in front of Parks Library |
| Cost: | Free |
| URL: | http://www.lib.iastate.edu/news-article/100767 |
| Contact: | Tobie Matava |
| Phone: | 515-294-2849 |
| Channel: | University Library |
| Categories: | Arts, performances Diversity |
| Actions: | Download iCal/vCal | Email Reminder |
Visitors also are invited to go into the library to see displays and perhaps check out a favorite "banned" book from the library.
While the first amendment guarantees each of us the right to express our opinions, it also ensures that none of us has the right to limit another's ability to read and access information. And while parents have the right to decide what their children can read, they do not have the right to impose those restrictions on other people's children. Despite this fact, each year individuals and groups file hundreds of written requests demanding that specific books be removed from library shelves and schools.
The Office of Intellectual Freedom reports that more than 5,099 book challenges were filed from 2000 to 2012. To highlight this growing trend and help ensure our continued freedom to read, in 1982, librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers and readers came together to organize the first Banned Book Week.
Banned Book Week Readers (in order)
1. Veronica Fowler, ACLU Communications Director; Persepolis
2. Jonathan Wickert, Provost; Harry Potter
3. Amy Slagell LAS Assoc. Dean; His Dark Materials
4. Pete Englin, Dir. Dept. of Residence; Catcher in the Rye
5. Linda Shenk, Associate Prof. Eng.; The Awakening
6. Cathann Kress, VP for Extension & Outreach; Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
7. Rebecca Jackson, Associate Prof. SSH; Gone With the Wind
8. Bradley Freihoefer, Program Coordinator; And Tango Makes Three
9. Dan Coffey, Associate Prof. SSH; Ulysses
10. Tom Hill, Sr. VP Student Affairs; Kaffir Boy
11. Pamela Anthony, Dean of Students; Angelou, Wright or Baldwin
12. Olivia Madison, Dean of Library; To Kill a Mockingbird
Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis - this past March teachers in Chicago Public Schools were sent a letter by their district CEO ordering that the book be removed from the 7th grade curriculum and classrooms due to graphic language and images. This graphic novel describes the author's upbringing in revolutionary Iran.
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter Series - now the most banned books in America. Due to focus on wizardry and paganism, thereby undermining Christian values.
Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials - this fantasy trilogy was challenged because of "political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, and violence." These books challenge readers' ideas regarding sexuality, original sin, and an assortment of other things.
J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye - this book was removed from some high school classrooms after parents objected to the "lewd content."
Kate Chopin, The Awakening - parents in Illinois and Kansas school districts have requested that this book and many others be removed from high school classrooms due to "vulgar language, sexual explicitness, or violent imagery"
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - banned from Washington High Schools for racist language. Teachers protested this ban by pointing out that Twain was actually attacking racism and opening the door for important discussions about America's past.
Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind - banned by a California school district for the book's portrayal of slaves in the antebellum South and the immoral behavior of its heroine.
Justin Richardson & Peter Parness, And Tango Makes Three - true story of two male penguins who adopted a chick in New York's Central Park Zoo. This book was challenged because it perceived to be an "attack on families headed by heterosexuals."
James Joyce, Ulysses - published as a serial 1918-1920 initially banned in the U.S. and U.K. due to it's strong sexual themes. In a famous ACLU case in 1933 U.S. District Court Judge John Woolsey ruled that the book was not pornographic. After that the book debut in America.
Mark Mathabane, Kaffir Boy - banned from middle school classrooms as inappropriate for 13 - 14 year olds. This book tells the personal story of the author's upbringing in South Africa during the 1960-70s.
This book is on the ALA list of "Outstanding Books for the College Bound"
Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird - this Pulitzer prize winning book ranks in the top ten of books most frequently challenged 50 years after their initial publication. Racial slurs and blunt dialogue about rape have led people to challenge it's appropriateness in libraries and classrooms.