Tag Archives: censorship

Stephen Gosson: Unhinged by Lit

By Robin Bates | Published: July 24, 2016

Stephen Gosson, a 17th century Puritan and failed playwright, unloads virtually every poet revered in the 17th century. Though we dismiss his words today, they anticipated contemporary attacks on literature/

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Helms’s Attack on Marvell’s “Coy Mistress”

By Robin Bates | Published: July 13, 2016

Tales of unexpected attacks against great literature: in 1966 Jesse Helms, later a rightwing North Carolina senator, attacked Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” for providing male students a chance to talk about erotic matter in front of female students.

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Let Our Teachers Teach

By Robin Bates | Published: April 17, 2016

Monday When I wrote last week about a Virginia legislator attacking teachers for assigning Toni Morrison’s Beloved, I didn’t realize that there was a mother in an adjoining county also going after the book. And unlike the Virginia legislator she gives reasons. Here’s from The Post’s article about Laura Murphy, a Fairfax County mother whose son […]

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A Virginia Legislator Attacks Beloved

By Robin Bates | Published: April 13, 2016

A Virginia representative has attacked the teaching of Toni Morrison’s “Beloved,” calling the novel “moral sewage.” Given the man’s views on spousal rape and abortion, i think I know what scene in the book set him off.

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Criminal Case: Turkish Prez & Gollum

By Robin Bates | Published: December 7, 2015

A character analysis of Gollum could determine whether a Turkish doctor goes to jail. This after he tweeted images of the Turkish president that resembled the film’s depiction of Gollum.

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Why It’s Good To Offend Students

By Robin Bates | Published: September 1, 2015

An entering Duke student has refused to read Alison Bechdel’s “Fun House.” A professor comes partially to his defense.

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Warning Labels for the Classics

By Robin Bates | Published: May 20, 2014

Suggestions that certain classics come with “trigger warnings” leads of the following reflection.

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Parents, Kids, Schools & Banned Books

By Robin Bates | Published: May 23, 2012

Parents pressure schools to ban books because they want to protect their children. Their children want the books because they have a different set of needs.

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When Werther-Fever Upended Europe

By Robin Bates | Published: May 9, 2012

Goethe’s “Sorrows of Young Werther” created a sensation in 1774, with a young cult following and older attackers.

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