Inquiry II Seminar

Dear Shannon,

As I mentioned in my comments in class last week, I think this is a rich topic. In particular, I remarked upon the fine line between censorship and selection. As teachers of literature we may view the former as a violent, oppressive act and the latter as a nurturing, thoughtful act. Teachers select literature with a view to age appropriateness, etc, and may not question their actions. And yet, many have troubled the notion of selection. Evidently selecting a collection of texts for a class to read over a year entails passing over a far larger collection of others. What motivates our selections and are these motivations valid? This is a very difficult question that I hope you will introduce in the context of your work. There is a long history of writing on this topic — I’ve included some articles for your reference below.

I look forward to discussing this further tomorrow.

Teresa

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References

Asheim, L. (1953). Not censorship but selection. Wilson Library Bulletin, 28(1), 63-67.

Grigg, K. L. (1993). Censorship and Selection. ERIC Document: ED630955.

Kelly, P. P., & Small Jr, R. C. (1986). Censorship or Selection?. Virginia English Bulletin, 36(1), n1.

Kidd, K. (2009). “Not Censorship but Selection”: Censorship and/as Prizing. Children‘s Literature in Education, 40(3), 197-216.

Reichman, H. (2001). Censorship and selection: Issues and answers for schools. ALA Editions.

Shannon,

The topic of censorship I think will be extremely relevant, important and exciting to your students especially in this period of time with all of the information out there for students to access (or not). Or, at least, students can relate to the idea of wanting to express themselves but being met with limitations. Having students explore censorship in their own lives and experiences as you mentioned, as well current issues with SOPA, MTV, and so forth, sounds like a great way to not only raise awareness and generate meaningful discussions, but hook students into the novel. I haven’t read the novel, so I can’t comment directly about it but your first question, “what parallels can be drawn between the censorship in Ray Bradbury’s fictional world in Fahrenheit 451 and historical and modern instances of censorship?” sounds quite focused but allows for much exploration.

I think teaching this novel will be very rewarding for you.

Best of luck,
Rita

Hi Shannon,

I think this is an excellent research question. The question of censorship is a lot more relevant than most high school students think. As free as the Internet is, the tracking and monitoring of online activity can potentially be the first step in censorship, after all surveillance is closely tied to censorship.

Another idea is also the idea of political correctness as a form of censorship. It was mentioned in another class, when we avoid the words that get at a core of an issue, that the issue won’t be covered in depth. I think students would benefit from learning about the power of words and what happens when words are not allowed to be used.

I hope your research goes well,

Jose

Thanks, Rita and Jose, for your comments. In light of what Teresa has noted and what I’ve found as I’ve started my research, I’ve broadened my question to look at censorship and the classroom literature selection process more generally. It’s a bit paradoxical, but I’ve broadened my view in order to narrow my focus… 🙂 The question I’ll address now will, I think, be more relevant to everyone in this class, as it focuses less on F451 and more on the “politics of selection.” I’m working through a lot of research and critical commentary on censorship, and will end up with – hopefully – some answers to this revised question: “What factors motivate or contribute to the censorship or selection of books for high school students?”