ENG 1236 BANNED BOOKS
“Yes, books are dangerous,” argued young adult novelist Pete Hautman. “They should be dangerous—they contain ideas.” Are books dangerous? To whom? Who decides? This course investigates a range of texts that have been considered controversial, transgressive, obscene, and ultimately dangerous. Why have such works inspired public outrage and condemnation? Do they inspire or undermine moral values? And if censorship is tangled in questions of free speech and human rights, is book banning ever justifiable?
Course Types
Expression, Literature
Offered
Fall, Winter, Spring
- 1) Perform a close reading, and explain how various formal aspects of a text -- eg. word choice, sentence structure, tone, paragraphing, formatting and punctuation -- affect its interpretation.
- 2) Examine how a text is shaped and produced by its original historical context.
- 3) Examine how literary texts channel, endorse, and respond to larger ideologies and cultural assumptions.
- 4) Compare literary texts with non-literary modes of expression (such as film, painting, and performance), in order to articulate what makes literature distinctive.
- 5) Produce written interpretations using the formal approach and at least one additional critical approach: historical, cultural, or modal.
- 6) Read and respond to literary criticism, to develop an awareness of its critical frameworks and structural conventions.