(Boomer reads banned books photo from deancollege instagram page)
From the 2nd to 6th of October, Dean college celebrated Banned Books Week! As the name suggests people take a look at all the books that are banned from Libraries, Schools, and even being sold at private bookstores and why. When did this become an established event? Why do we celebrate what is thought of as bad? And why are so many of these books banned despite freedom of expression and press being an outline in the United States? Full discretion. There will be talks of politics, but there will in no way be any biases or personal opinions, rather focusing on states viewpoints on subjects that relate to certain books being banned.
(Banned Books: Legality, Limits, and Local Policy presentation by Dean faculty and library staff, photo by Sophie Hunter)
So, what exactly counts as a ‘banned book’? A book, that someone believes can be posed as inappropriate or controversial, can be voted to be pulled from libraries, schools, and even privately owned bookstores if pushed far enough. What counts as strikes against a book to be banned? Well, it really comes down to the place where it was banned and the ‘social norms’ present. Instead of trying to explain it’s very in-depth history, here’s an example of a book that was banned and why.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker. The Color Purple is about Celie, an African American woman living in rural Georgia in , trying to overcome horrific circumstances life throws upon her. The book has well written messaging about female empowerment and overcoming adversity and oppression. The book has, and still is, banned since 1984, just only two years after publication, from schools across the nation because of the subjects stated before. However, it is a banned book for a reason. It contains sexually explicit moments and domestic violence (examples will not be mentioned here) that people can see inappropriate. In all honestly, it's fair to see where they come from. Reading about domestic abuse can be very uncomfortable, especially if readers have experienced it themselves. Communities want to keep subjects like that away from children so tough conversations at home don't have to happen. There is also a homosexual relationship, and in some states likeIdaho, Montana, and Arkansas (to name a few) LGBTQIA+ representation is often looked down upon by most people. Again, people will ban the book because they think they're doing will keep people safe from harm.
(Banned Books read-a-thon table display, photo taken by Sophie Hunter)
With a, hopefully, general explanation put in place, how did Dean choose to celebrate these ‘banned’ titles? Kicking off the weeklong events and activities were excerpt readings from banned books by students and faculty of Dean college, as well as others that I unfortunately didn’t hear where they were from. Each reader came up on stage at the student center atrium, introduced the book and briefly explained why it was banned, before diving into the text. One of these readers was Professor David Rowell of arts and entertainment managing, who read a scene from One Flew Over the Cuckoos nest, a book, he explained, banned for promoting criminal activity and pornography.
To understand more about the events partaking that week, I had the privilege to interview Sarah Lindblom, a current staff member at the learning center/library. When asking about the people who had read the banned books on Monday, Sarah commented; “We didn’t have to ask anybody, people wanted to get there […] it was actually mostly faculty and staff [of dean] doing the reading. [We] wanted to get students in there to read, like we had some students---but I wanted to see way (x3) more."
(Photographed by Michelle Hegenauer)
Overall, while attendance at a few of the events was low, the whole week seemed to go well! It's strange to think that something so prominent and so important to society, ends up being one of the most banned things in America. Reading allows us to explore new perspectives and make the unbelievable believable. When books are banned, the ones behind the bans do it out of safety and concern for others around certain issues. Yet the people who ban them only do it out of best interest for everyone in their community. Is there a right side to this debate? Who can say, but at least people can still buy the books online without any legal consequences.