In recent years, book bans and challenges have become a major area of public discourse. Banned books were once a more niche topic, mostly discussed amongst librarians, educators, writers, and publishers. However, a surge of challenges and bans across the United States, focused largely on books by and about marginalized people, has pushed the issue into public attention.
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On Thursday September 29th (the day after this blog post is published), CSUN will host its 10th Annual Banned Books Readout: Belonging on the Shelf featuring writer and teacher Karimah Tennyson-Marsh and co-sponsored by the University Library, the Department of Journalism, the Queer Studies Program and the Pride Center. Understanding the nuances of book challenges and censorship, this event will showcase the importance of resisting book bans through dramatic readings.
Hearing the phrase “banned book” might feel old-fashioned in many ways. Often people invoke Fahrenheit 451 and the image of book burnings, or refer to now widely-taught texts like Catcher in the Rye or Catch-22. These books still face challenges and bans across the country, of course. However, it’s worth pointing out that in 2021, the most challenged/banned book was Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, and that The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison has shown up as a frequently-challenged book since its publication.
Often, bans are presented within a framework of protecting student and children interests; what they do instead, is erase the ways students can encounter themselves or other human experiences. In some cases, the students themselves are the ones pushing back against bans.
In the growing area of study around who challenges books and why, the work of Emily Knox has emerged as a foundational text for research and understanding. You can access a digital copy of Book Banning in 21st-Century America through the CSUN library, or hear her discuss her research with a panel of library workers on the podcast librarypunk.
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As reading icon LeVar Burton used to say, “Don’t take my word for it.” Check out some banned books for yourself! You can access digital copies of the Top 10 most challenged books in 2021, as well as other historically and frequently banned books, through the Los Angeles Public Library, or explore the research and discourse around challenged books in the University Library catalog.
Happy reading! 🔥
References:
Alfonseca, Kiara. “Students Protest Book Bans by Distributing ‘Maus,’ ‘Beloved.’” ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/US/students-protest-book-bans-distributing-maus-beloved/story?id=82622456. Accessed 28 Sept. 2022.
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The point that bans often erase opportunities for students to encounter themselves or understand other lives is especially important, particularly when books by marginalized authors face disproportionate challenges. CSUN’s dramatic readout offers a concrete way to keep those voices present, while maintaining related online resources also requires practical planning around recurring costs; a comparison tool such as regery can help organizations evaluate domain renewal prices before registering.
The distinction between old images of censorship and today’s challenges to books such as Gender Queer is important, especially when bans disproportionately erase marginalized experiences. CSUN’s dramatic readout also shows how libraries can turn resistance into a visible community practice rather than treating censorship as an abstract debate. That broader commitment to accessible knowledge also makes practical resources like 計算工房 valuable.
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The point about bans often being framed as protecting students, while actually limiting the chance for students to see themselves and other lives reflected, feels especially important. I also appreciated the concrete mention of Gender Queer and The Bluest Eye, since it shows how current and recurring these challenges are. Discussions about how people are perceived can connect in unexpected ways to tools like Age Guesser, though that should stay far from censorship or identity judgments.
I like the focus on making small technical tasks simpler. A browser-based utility such as Persona 5 Royal Fusion Calculator makes sense when installing software would be too much overhead.