Spring Break
Do you know which books are banned?
The debate about your freedom to read
Annette Nellen
Issue date: 10/2/07 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
Day to day, we probably don't think much about our reading choices. Students have plenty of assigned reading, and professors must read a lot to stay current. We might feel we have little choice in our reading because we have so much assigned reading.
Aside from time constraints, are there any forces limiting our reading choices? Does your local bookstore carry books from a wide variety of publishers, or just a few? How are selection decisions made? Could the person responsible for buying books for your local bookstore or library avoid books on topics they don't agree with? Have any titles been removed from school libraries or school curriculum due to parent or teacher disapproval of the subject matter?
These are important questions to think about periodically. The American Library Association and others encourage you to think about them, at least annually, during "Banned Books Week." The SJSU Campus Reading Program is joining this tradition with events on Oct. 2 and 3.
"Banned Books Week" celebrates our freedom to read. Individuals should be allowed to make their own decisions as to whether a book is suitable for them to read. Parents should be able to help their own children with that decision rather than the parents of other children making reading decisions for them. When individuals impose their values to restrict the makeup of library and bookstore shelves, the freedom to read suffers.
Every year many challenges are made, particularly in kindergarten through high school and public libraries, to various books, often because of their sexual, religious or political content. Challenged books in the U.S. include the "Harry Potter" series, due to the focus on witchcraft. Classics such as "Huck Finn," "Catcher in the Rye," "Beloved" and "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" are also on banned or challenged book lists in some libraries or communities.
Please take a few minutes away from your assigned reading to think about how important your freedom to read is. When ideas are held hostage by those who disagree with them, we all suffer. Discussion and debate on ideas makes our democracy work and keeps it strong. The freedom to read supports the freedom to choose for one's self, to express new ideas, to engage in public debate, and to keep intellectual engagement vibrant. Don't take the freedom to read for granted - exercise it and protect it in your communities.
Please join the Campus Reading Program in celebrating our freedom to read. For more information on banned books and events on campus, see http://www.sjsu.edu/reading/BannedBooks.htm.
Annette Nellen is a professor in the College of Business and Director of the Campus Reading Program.
Aside from time constraints, are there any forces limiting our reading choices? Does your local bookstore carry books from a wide variety of publishers, or just a few? How are selection decisions made? Could the person responsible for buying books for your local bookstore or library avoid books on topics they don't agree with? Have any titles been removed from school libraries or school curriculum due to parent or teacher disapproval of the subject matter?
These are important questions to think about periodically. The American Library Association and others encourage you to think about them, at least annually, during "Banned Books Week." The SJSU Campus Reading Program is joining this tradition with events on Oct. 2 and 3.
"Banned Books Week" celebrates our freedom to read. Individuals should be allowed to make their own decisions as to whether a book is suitable for them to read. Parents should be able to help their own children with that decision rather than the parents of other children making reading decisions for them. When individuals impose their values to restrict the makeup of library and bookstore shelves, the freedom to read suffers.
Every year many challenges are made, particularly in kindergarten through high school and public libraries, to various books, often because of their sexual, religious or political content. Challenged books in the U.S. include the "Harry Potter" series, due to the focus on witchcraft. Classics such as "Huck Finn," "Catcher in the Rye," "Beloved" and "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" are also on banned or challenged book lists in some libraries or communities.
Please take a few minutes away from your assigned reading to think about how important your freedom to read is. When ideas are held hostage by those who disagree with them, we all suffer. Discussion and debate on ideas makes our democracy work and keeps it strong. The freedom to read supports the freedom to choose for one's self, to express new ideas, to engage in public debate, and to keep intellectual engagement vibrant. Don't take the freedom to read for granted - exercise it and protect it in your communities.
Please join the Campus Reading Program in celebrating our freedom to read. For more information on banned books and events on campus, see http://www.sjsu.edu/reading/BannedBooks.htm.
Annette Nellen is a professor in the College of Business and Director of the Campus Reading Program.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Ted Rudow III,MA
posted 10/02/07 @ 8:49 AM PST
"War is important for consuming the products of human labour; if this work were being used to increase the standard of living, the control of the party over the people would decrease. (Continued…)
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