What makes some writers so dangerous? Why would the Zeeland Public Schools get so upset about Harry Potter? Why would the Ayatollah Khomeni declare a Fatwa—effectively, a death sentence--against Salmon Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses? Whitman’s Leaves of Grass was banned in Boston; it made him famous. Even today Huckleberry Finn is excluded from many public school libraries. Why do some critics think Nabokov’s Lolita is a threat to the safety of “the children”? Why has the struggle over teaching Darwin’s Origin of Species persisted for more than a century? Are trash-talking Gangsta Rappers the front-line guardians of free speech? What is offensive? What is dangerous? Should some works be banned? For whom? Who decides? What do attitudes about censorship in our society indicate about the interplay of race, class, gender, religion, and sexuality? Banned books often become bestsellers and “classics”? Why? What are the best strategies for getting one’s book banned?
Banned Books
is designed with the embattled teacher, the muckraking journalist, and the
aspiring culture hero in mind. It
should also benefit anyone who cares about freedom of expression (or
restricting it). While the course will
not take place in a moral vacuum, Banned Books will endorse no specific
agenda other than free enquiry into the cultural dynamics of censorship and the
need, as mature thinkers, to balance freedom with responsibility. Material is not included in this course
gratuitously; participants must risk being shocked and offended by some of the
texts and films. Other requirements
include active participation, a medium-length research paper (6-8 pages), a
team investigation of relevant censorship issues (with a 30-minute class
presentation), two exams, three short essays (500 words on the online
Discussion Board) followed by leadership in class discussions. The following works (excerpted in some
cases) are included: Milton’s Areopagitica.;
Marx’s Communist Manifesto; Twain’s Huckleberry Finn; Spike
Lee’s film, Bamboozled; Randall
Kennedy’s Nigger; Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye; Darwin’s Origin
of Species; Scorsese’s film version of Kazantzakis’ The Last Temptation
of Christ; Whitman’s Leaves of Grass; Ginsberg’s Howl;
Nabokov’s Lolita; Leslea Newman’s Heather Has Two Mommies;
Michael Willhoite’s Daddy’s Roommate, and J. K. Rowling’s Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Instructor: Dr. William Pannapacker
Office
Hours:
Wednesdays, 1:30-5:00.
Office: Lubbers 323
Phone: 395-7454 (no voice mail)
E-Mail: pannapacker@hope.edu
(This schedule may change to adapt to the needs of the class. All changes will be announced in advance. When in doubt, check this Web page, which will be updated regularly.)
Introduction: Inventing the “The Author” and “Free Speech”
August 28 (Wednesday): Read “What is an Author?” In-class screening: Quills (reconvene in Granberg Room, from 7:00-9:30 PM).
September 4 (Wednesday): Read Areopagitica, the Bill of Rights, and “The Case for Censorship” by Robert Bork; (see Resource Pack in library); browse reviews of Quills online (See Collected Film Links); Discussion Board Review and Conversation: Josh Hauser, Jane Bast, Owen Curry (on Quills). Initial Team Meetings. Political Censorship: Communism, McCarthyism, Anti-Semitism, and “Hate Speech”September 25 (Wednesday): Read Huckleberry Finn and “Banned in Concord: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Classic American Literature” (Optional, recommended for DBE writers, Resource Pack); Discussion Board Review and Conversation: Dave Stefanich, Sarah Klooster, Chris Bryan, Abby Kulick, Lisa Moores, Kim Pett.
September 29 (Sunday): Screening of Spike Lee’s Bamboozled, Granberg Room, Van Wylen Library, 7:00-9:15 PM. October 2 (Wednesday): Read Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word and reviews of Bamboozled (See Collected Film Links); Discussion Board Review and Conversation: Jenny Alderick, Adam Lyng, Amanda Dykstra, Lauren Jensen and Ian Kobes (on Bamboozled), Jennifer Gormley, Craig Tommola, Meghan Betka, Jane Bast, Jeff Seymour, Kyle Delhagen. October 9 (Wednesday): HOPE MONDAY; NO CLASS. October 16 (Wednesday): MID-TERM EXAM; Read The Catcher in the Rye and “Censorship and the Values of Fiction” by Wayne Booth (Optional, recommended for DBE writers, Resource Pack); Discussion Board Review and Conversation: Josh Hauser, Megan Vescolani, Tim Kirkman, Ian Kobes, Lisa Moores, Meghan Betka, Sarah Klooster, Shannon Chiesa, Katie Veldman, Molly Halvey, Kyle Delhagen. Religious Censorship: Rationalism, Blasphemy, Witchcraft, and Modern Christianity
The best comprehensive index on the topic.
Banned Books and Censorship: Information and Resources.
"What is an Author?" by Michel Foucault.
On Harry Potter: Family.org; Kjos Ministries.
The Banned Books Project.
Censored: An Extensive Archive of Articles and Links to Organizations.
Additional Organizations Concerned with Freedom of Speech and Censorship: American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); American Library Association (ALA); Concerned Women for America (CWA); Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF); Family Reseach Council (FRC); Parents Against Bad Books; Freedom Forum; International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX); Morality in Media (MIM); National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC); National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families; People for the American Way.
The first-place investigation was conducted by Team Dumbledore (left to right below: Craig Tommola, Amanda Dykstra, Lauren Jensen, Kyle Delhagen, Molly Halvey, and Katie Veldman) who presented their findings to the class on December 6, 2002. Team Dumbledore "sought to uncover the level at which members of Hope faculty are experiencing censorship." After conducting a faculty-wide survey and a series of interviews, the team found that censorship at Hope does not stem from college policies or the administration but rather from faculty, who censor themselves in order to "maintain a comfortable environment for students, other members of the faculty, and themselves" in an institution that teaches "in the context of the historic Christian faith."
