Episode 18 (May 2022): The Censors are Coming! The Censors are Coming!

Beth Patin, Dave Lankes, & Mike Eisenberg

Description

It is happening here. Again. There’s a huge increase in efforts to censor what is taught or even discussed in school along with banning, and in some cases even burning books in schools and libraries. In this episode, we delve into the nature of these threats along with ways to counteract them.

The same people who profess to champion freedom and rail against cancel culture, wokeness, safe places, and hurt feelings now want to censor and ban books, pass laws against teaching about race or sexuality, and “protect” kids and ourselves from ideas, science, or history that might be upsetting. What is this all about, and what are the implications, particularly for libraries and schools?

References & Resources

Main Topic

American Library Association (2022) https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10

American Library Association (2022). Challenge Support. https://www.ala.org/tools/challengesupport

Higgins-Dailey, Jacqui (April 5, 2021). “ALA’s Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2020,” The Office for Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association. Intellectual Freedom Blog, https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/alas-top-ten-most-challenged-books-of-2020/

Ismail, Aymann (Jan 31, 2022). “There’s a Simple Reason That Demands to “Ban” Books Like Maus Are Soaring, And it’s not only coming from the right.” Interview with Emily Knox. SLATE, https://slate.com/human-interest/2022/01/maus-banned-tennessee-holocaust-graphic-novel.html

Knox. Emily J.M. (2015) Book Banning in 21st-Century America. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Montgomery, David (January 18, 2022). “Librarians Fight Back Against Efforts to Ban Books in Schools,” EducationWeek. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/librarians-fight-back-against-efforts-to-ban-books-in-schools/2022/01

#FReadom Fighters (2022) https://www.freadom.us/ Includes letter by Representative Krause, Chairman of the Texas House Committee on General Investigating calling for the state’s school libraries to review a list of 850 books for possible removal. Some librarians formed “#FReadom Fighters” to resist what they call “a war on books.”

Descovich Tina (2022). “To say there were slaves is one thing, but to talk in detail about how slaves were treated, and with photos, is another,” leader of Moms for Liberty. In Boule, Jamie (Feb 18, 2022). “You Just Can’t Tell the Truth About America Anymore,” New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/18/opinion/us-history-censorship.html

Wazzup?

Nietzel, Michael T. (Nov 24, 2021). “South Carolina Legislature Wants To End College Tenure,” Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2021/11/24/south-carolina-legislature-wants-to-end-college-tenure/?sh=1ac219474e0f

Schneider, Andrew (March 28, 2022). “Dan Patrick’s plan to end tenure at Texas universities could have dire consequences, experts warn,” Houston Public Media.org, Houston PBS TV 8. https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/in-depth/2022/03/28/421924/patricks-plan-to-eliminate-tenure-at-texas-state-universities-could-have-dire-consequences-experts-warn/

University of North Alabama https://www.una.edu/

Awesome Library Thingy

Cooper, Wes (Feb 11, 2022. “No change to ‘Maus’ ban at McMinn County Schools despite backlash,” WATE TV, ABC Channel 6. https://www.wate.com/news/local-news/no-change-to-maus-ban-at-mcminn-county-schools-despite-backlash/ Pottsboro Texas Public Library (2022) https://pottsborolibrary.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PottsboroLibrary

Cooper, Wes (Feb 11, 2022). “No change to ‘Maus’ ban at McMinn County Schools despite backlash,” WATE TV, ABC Channel 6. https://www.wate.com/news/local-news/no-change-to-maus-ban-at-mcminn-county-schools-despite-backlash/

Balzer, Cass (Jan/Feb 2022). “Uptick in First Amendment Audits. American Libraries. p. 36-39, https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2022/01/03/uptick-in-first-amendment-audits-2

Filed under: Dr. Beth Patin, Dr. Dave Lankes, Dr. Mike Eisenberg, Season 2