1. Are there any books that should ever be censored? If so, why? If so, which ones? Who should decide what books are censored and for whom?
I have yet to see a situation where censorship is acceptable in a non-military context. It's the bane of progress.
2. Should any books be withheld from libraries in high schools? If so, why? If so, which ones? Who should decide what books are withheld?
No. High school is the time for people to begin being exposed from the world.
3. Name five books (aside from religious works) that you think have had a massive impact on the world, and at least one that is frequently overlooked on lists of that sort.
Hm. Most of the books I am thinking of are either representative of large philosophical trends of the time or reveal my heavy classical bias, but I'll list them anyway.
Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.
Vergil's Aeneid.
Martin Luther's Disputatio pro declaratione virtutis indulgentiarum (It's a pamphlet. I don't care).
Thomas Paine's Common Sense (It's a pamphlet. I don't care either).
Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England have proven highly influential in the legal world.
4. Do you think any of the books you listed in point 3 should be read in schools as mandatory reading? Why or why not?
Well, Common Sense typically is required reading... I suppose it's a good foundation for the American Revolution. Same with the Odyssey. I think more attention should be paid to the creation of the Protestant church, but that might be a hint of Anglican bias there.
5. Name five books (aside from religious works) that you think SHOULD be mandatory reading in schools (or at least "on the curriculum" if you don't like the word "mandatory"), and why.
Brave New World, because Huxley was right and it's happening now.
Dante's Inferno, because its influence is difficult to overstate.
In the United States, at least, To Kill a Mockingbird, because it's an excellent portrayal of both history and modern events.
The next two will be poetry. Tennyson and Keats. Those two should be read more.
6. Do you think schools are too careful in choosing books due to pressure from those who would censor the curriculum? If so, which sorts of books do you feel are unjustly censored?
Yes. We've seen Mark Twain censored because of the use of the word "nigger." The list is practically endless.
7. Do you think schools place too much emphasis on particular themes or ideas when choosing their curriculum? If so, which ones?
Racism is overdone and largely represented by authors whose ability to write compares favorably only with Stephanie Meyer.
8. Are there any authors you would remove from school curricula who are presently well-represented? Why?
The ones I've written above. Toni Morrison springs to mind; writing about racism does not make one an accomplished author.
9. Are there any authors not represented that you would like to see added generally? Why?
Russian authors. Any. Crime and Punishment was removed from the syllabus my senior year, and so my class graduated without reading a single Russian author. Or for that matter, either Dickens or Austen. I don't think that's typical, though; Dostoevsky has a pretty prominent place in high school syllabi.
10. Is there ONE book (aside from religious works) that you think EVERYONE should read? If so, what book and why?
Huxley's Brave New World. The infantilization of society is well under way.
"We feel safe when we read what we recognise, what does not challenge our way of thinking.... a steady acceptance of pre-arranged patterns leads to the inability to question what we are told."
~Camilla
Ghavrel is Ghavrel is Ghavrel
*MySmiley*
~Camilla
Ghavrel is Ghavrel is Ghavrel
*MySmiley*
Censorship, promotion of books and dissemination of ideas.
05/02/2010 05:15:17 PM
- 1365 Views
Tough Subject, censorship
05/02/2010 07:24:39 PM
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I think I would be worried if a school had more than one copy of Mein Kampf
06/02/2010 06:30:08 PM
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I was mostly just using it as an example, since it was what the article talked about
06/02/2010 10:20:08 PM
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I actually ran into this in high school.
05/02/2010 08:33:10 PM
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I found that we covered a lot about American Indian issues in US History.
06/02/2010 06:23:16 PM
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Anyone interested in German history in particular and European history in general should read it.
05/02/2010 08:47:14 PM
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I think jane austen and the brontes would be good to leave in
06/02/2010 03:44:10 AM
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I read a great number of books I don't necesarily agree with, so I'm on your side.
06/02/2010 06:19:21 PM
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Hmm.
05/02/2010 09:11:13 PM
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It's interesting that many of the most influential books are hardly ever read.
06/02/2010 06:15:19 PM
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Love the survey.
05/02/2010 09:42:29 PM
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Interesting. Do you really think that Nineteen Eighty-Four is plausible?
06/02/2010 10:13:56 AM
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Re: Censorship, promotion of books and dissemination of ideas.
05/02/2010 11:09:41 PM
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Re: Censorship, promotion of books and dissemination of ideas.
05/02/2010 11:47:08 PM
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I agree with most of that. But to quote our eminent Camilla...
06/02/2010 10:30:15 AM
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Re: I agree with most of that. But to quote our eminent Camilla...
06/02/2010 12:25:37 PM
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I agree on the Shakespeare (and mentioned that below).
06/02/2010 05:54:50 PM
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Re: I agree on the Shakespeare (and mentioned that below).
06/02/2010 06:05:48 PM
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I don't think high school students need to discuss possibilities for staging.
07/02/2010 01:36:03 AM
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nice post
06/02/2010 01:27:23 AM
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Re: nice post
06/02/2010 01:29:34 AM
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A lot of people think von Clausewitz is important.
06/02/2010 05:51:44 PM
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More than Sun Tzu? *NM*
06/02/2010 08:31:44 PM
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Sun Zi was relatively unknown in the West until recently.
07/02/2010 01:30:06 AM
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Sure, but he could still have influenced world history by influencing Asia... *NM*
07/02/2010 01:35:17 AM
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Doubtful.
07/02/2010 01:41:01 AM
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Neat.
06/02/2010 06:41:37 AM
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In many ways, books are like automobiles or power tools...
06/02/2010 11:08:01 AM
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The interesting thing, to my mind, is that the BBC article talks about "Lebensraum".
06/02/2010 04:46:34 PM
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And nary a thing about Alois Hitler, no?
06/02/2010 05:52:50 PM
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I have yet to see a literature teacher in schools teach history through literature.
07/02/2010 01:33:57 AM
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But yet I know several history teachers who have done this
07/02/2010 10:38:49 AM
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Viewing history through a literary prism is usually an injustice to the study of history.
07/02/2010 03:16:30 PM
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No, the opposite: viewing literature through historical lens is what I'm interested in
07/02/2010 03:31:04 PM
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Hmm.
06/02/2010 11:33:02 PM
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I will answer yiour survey but may I ask a question first? What did you think of Steinbeck?
07/02/2010 06:20:52 AM
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The Grapes of Wrath was required in Sophomore English in HS. And I loved it.
07/02/2010 03:25:55 PM
- 845 Views