User:Shirshorn/sandbox

To add:

-Find a court case (Supreme Court, if possible), which details the legality of censorship in the United States to be added to the "background" section. -Add a new section with statistics and numbers of book challenges across the country; maybe included in the list of books or adapted to include this? (Need to think of a title for the new section, if a completely new one should be created). -Choose 5-10 good examples of books that are consistently censored. Give the reasons for challenges, specific examples of the challenges, and how the challenges have been met. A good example could include Catcher in the Rye. -In the "Reasons for Censorship" section, include reasons from both the perpetrators of censorship, as well as it's opposition, to remain neutral throughout the article. (Consult more conservative information sources and their reviews on a book being censored). -Update the list of the books that have been censored and include the criteria that is decided upon on how these books were compiled, ex) how often they are censored, how recently, etc.

Bibliography (so far)... Censorship. (2011). Keywords for children's literature (). New York, NY, USA: New York University Press.

Foerstel, H. N. (2002). Banned in the U.S.A. : A reference guide to book censorship in schools and public libraries. Westport, US: Greenwood Press.

Foerstel, H. N.,. (1997). Free expression and censorship in america : An encyclopedia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. Retrieved from /z-wcorg/

HART, J. (2006, Oct 23). Novels too graphic for some - hot publishing trend of comic book-type images draws objections from some library patrons. Kansas City Star, the (MO), pp. B4.

Karolides, Nicholas J., Bald, Margaret., Sova,Dawn B.,. (2011). 120 banned books : Censorship histories of world literature. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc. Retrieved from /z-wcorg/

If we don't erase the content that is there like in the specific cases section or the list of censored books, should we create a section titled something like "Notable Censored Books" that will include the most censored books that we find cases about? Catcher in the Rye, Of Mice and Men, etc., could be good examples of books that are widely known and have been read and received well. Could we add 3-5 books with 3-5 cases in each?

Defining terms

Book censorship can take multiple forms, including suppression, challenging and banning. Broadly, censorship is defined as "the regulation of speech and other forms of expression by an entrenched authority." The overall intent of censorship, in any form, is to act as "a kind of safeguard for society, typically to protect norms and values, censorship suppresses what is considered objectionable from a political, moral, or religious standpoint." Book censorship, according to Henry Reichman, an English professor and author in topics pertaining to censorship, in the broadest sense "is the removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary, artistic, or educational material--of images, ideas, and information--on the grounds that these are morally or otherwise objectionable in the light of standards applied by the censor." The Marshall University Libraries, which conduct research on banned books in the United States, have defined a banned book as one that has been "removed from a library, classroom, etc." while a challenged book is one that "has been requested to be removed from a library, classroom, etc." by a censor. A censor can be anyone involved with education, ranging from a clergy member, a teacher, a librarian, but most commonly, a parent. Banning, the most permanent and effective way of censorship, begins with a challenge from a censor and then progresses to the point that the book is no longer available to any student in the school, library or district. People For The American Way, an organization concerned with protecting progressive values such as equal rights and freedom of speech, reported that in the school year from 1991-1992, the success of censors to get books removed in some capacity rose to 41 percent from 34 percent in previous year.

Legal context

Multiple cases on the right to freedom of reading, which is considered by many liberal organizations to be encompassed in the first amendment, have reached state supreme courts and United States courts of appeals. Cases like Evans V. Selma Union High School District of Fresno County in 1924 ruled "The mere act of purchasing a book to be added to the school library does not carry with it any implication of the adoption of the theory or dogma contained therein, or any approval of the book itself except as a work of literature fit to be included in a reference library." In Minarcini V. Strongsville City School District in 1976, the court upheld the school district's decision to not allow certain texts to be used in a curriculum, but "found the removal of the books from the library to be unconstitutional, referring to the library as a 'storehouse of knowledge.'" Censorship has also been addressed by the United States Supreme Court in the case Island Trees School District v. Pico in 1982. The case was brought to the Supreme Court by five students who challenged their school board's decision to remove nine books from the school's library, after a challenge came from an organization called Parents of New York United. The Supreme Court ruled that, under the First Amendment, "Local school boards may not remove books from school library shelves simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books". Justice William Brennan, who wrote the opinion, reasoned that "Local school boards have broad discretion in the management of school affairs, but such discretion must be exercised in a manner that comports with the transcendent imperatives of the First Amendment". Brennan continues that school boards do have "absolute discretion to choose academic materials" and what texts are used in classrooms, so removing books from curriculum would not be unconstitutional, as long as a school board's discretion is not "exercised in a narrowly partisan or political manner." Finally, he comments on the library, saying it is a distinct institution as it represents the First Amendment's "role in affording the public access to discussion, debate and the dissemination of information and ideas."

Reasons for censorship

According to the People for the American Way, an organization that fights to protect progressive values, such as equal rights and freedom of speech, "sexually explicit" material was the most frequent cause of book challenges in the decade from 1990-2000, while "offensive language" was responsible for the second-most amount of book challenges. Other causes for challenges, all of which are recorded by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, a group through the American Library Association that's mission is to educate school boards and librarians on intellectual freedom, include material that is not age appropriate, material involving "occult theme or promoting the occult of Satanism", violent material, the promotion of a homosexual agenda or religious viewpoint.

Well-known books that have been censored

The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, was first published in 1951 and has since been frequently challenged and frequently taught in schools. In the 1980's, it "had the unusual distinction of being the nation's most frequently censored book, and, at the same time, the second most frequently taught novel in the public schools." The American Library Association deemed it the tenth most challenged book from 1990-1999. Since then, it has appeared on the top ten most frequently challenged book lists published by the ALA in 2001, 2005, and 2006. The novel also appears as the second best and most classic novel of the 20th century based on a list developed by the Radcliffe Publishing Course. The majority of the objections have been over the novel's inappropriate language, but the book also has mentions of prostitutions, sexuality and underage drinking, as cited by the book review published by the organization Focus on the Family, an American, conservative group. The ALA cites the reasons for censorship as "offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group". A case in Paris, Maine in 1996 allowed for The Catcher in the Rye to continue being taught at the district high school, but mandated practices that would tell parents what books their children read, ultimately leaving it in the hands of parents to decide what their children should read, rather than the school. In 1997 in Marysville School District in California, the superintendent removed The Catcher in the Rye from the required reading curriculum for a junior level English course in an attempt to avoid "polarization over a book" after multiple expressed concerns from parents over the book's profanity and sexual encounters. Another case occurred in 2005 in North Berwick, Maine when a parent of a freshman English student requested the book be banned because of its content, which was determined inappropriate through a scanning of the book and the SparkNotes research page. The parent was concerned with the detailed interaction with a prostitute and that the protagonist was a "drop-out student who smokes, drinks, uses foul language and is a 'pervert'". The board voted to keep the book in the freshmen English curriculum, but would ask teachers to provide information to the parents about why the book, and other texts, were being studied in their classroom. A case in 2000 in the Limestone County School District in Alabama initially had the school board ban the book all together, but then determined that the novel was suitable for students who were sophomores, juniors and seniors in the high school, disallowing for students in the freshman class from reading the novel.

Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, first published in 1937, is considered an American classic and listed as the 12th best novel of the 20th century by the Radcliffe Publishing Course. It has remained a popular choice for teaching in English curriculums because of its simplistic nature, but profound message. Regardless, the novel appeared on the ALA's top ten most frequently challenged books in 2001, 2003 and 2004. H.N. Foerstel, the author of Banned in the U.S.A., a novel documenting the cases of censorship in the United States, states that "the censors claim to be protecting the young and impressionable from this tragic tale of crude heroes speaking vulgar language within a setting that implies criticism of our social system." The main reasons for censorship, as noted by the Office of Intellectual Freedom, are "offensive language, racism, unsuited to age group, violence". A case against the novella began in Normal, Illinois in 2004 when the Unit 5 Diversity Advisory Committee, a group of parents and community members in the school district, proposed a set of books that could be read instead of Steinbeck's novel that addressed the same themes as Of Mice and Men, but did not have the racial slurs that the group objected to. The group also suggested that the book should be removed from the permanent, required reading list for a sophomore English curriculum, however, did not ask that the was banned. The group appreciated that the novel addressed injustices of the past, but believed the alternative books that they proposed "address multicultural and socially sensitive issues in a meaningful, respectful manner", whereas Steinbeck's novel does not. Another case occurred in 2005 in Olathe, Kansas when a parent, Coni Leoni, asked the school board to remove Of Mice and Men from her son's ninth-grade English curriculum. Leoni read the novel, and "objected to the adult behaviors, such as drinking and vulgar language, in the book. She said she found 160 instances of profanity" in the novel, but the school board members ended up agreeing with the educators who argued for keeping the novel in the curriculum and the novella was not banned.

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, rose to fame quickly after winning the Pulitzer Prize and has since been considered an American classic. The novel confronts issues of rape and racial inequality, but is highly regarded for its universal themes that can appeal to many readers. The novel has been censored since its 1960 publication and appeared on the ALA's top ten most frequently challenged books in 2009 and 2011.The novel is objectionable because it deals with racial injustice, class systems, gender roles, loss of innocence while discussing violence, rape, incest and authority, while using strong language. In July of 1996, the Superintendent of the Moss Point School District in Mississippi announced To Kill a Mockingbird would be reviewed by a group of parents, community members and teachers after a complaint came from Reverend Greg Foster about the novel's racial descriptions and discussion of sexual activity. The novel was ultimately banned from being accessed in the school district. In 1997 in Burleson, Texas, the school board trustees agreed on a policy that that would ban any books that used profanity, meaning they would also have to remove To Kill a Mockingbird from classrooms. Teachers who were concerned that this classic book would have to be removed urged the trustees to reconsider their policy, which was quickly replaced with a new policy that required teachers to instead send reading lists with detailed analysis to the parents of the students reading Lee's novel. Another case began with a resident in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, in 2008, who objected to having To Kill A Mockingbird as part of a high school English curriculum. The challenger had problems with how African-Americans were treated in the novel and feared that the descriptions may upset black students who were reading the novel. Instead of banning the book, the school board voted unanimously to keep the book in the curriculum and instead responded to fears of upsetting black students with racial sensitivity training for teachers who used the novel in their classrooms.

The Harry Potter series

The seven-book Harry Potter series by J.K.Rowling has been a cult-favorite franchise since the first novel came out in 1997, leading to the release of eight movies based on the series and an amusement park inspired by the characters. Harry Potter has brought similar amount of controversy as it has obsession: the series was the most frequently challenged book in 2001 and 2002, before falling to second-most challenged book in 2003. The ALA cites the reasons for censorship as "anti-family, occult/Satanism, religious viewpoint, violence", but the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas's "Free People Read Freely" report also cited concerns over sexual content. In one case in Lawrenceville, Georgia in 2007, a parent asked that the Harry Potter books be kept out of classrooms, suggesting that the novels promote the practice of witchcraft and contain violent content that is not suitable for her fifteen-year-old daughter to read as she was becoming inspired to try witchcraft like the characters do in the series. School board attorney, Victoria Sweeney, presented evidence for why the novels should be kept in the classroom, noting that they encourage children's fascination with reading and explore themes such as good triumphing over evil. The board ultimately unanimously decided to keep the books in the classroom since they had the potential to spark creativity and imagination, as well as a love for learning and reading. In Lake Los Angeles, California, the school board in Wilsona School District passed a policy that prohibited books that "depict drinking alcohol, smoking, drugs, sex, including 'negative sexuality,' implied or explicit nudity, cursing, violent crime or weapons, gambling, foul humor and 'dark content.'" These guidelines removed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from the school district's library because of mentions of these topics. The goal of the new policy was to make the library, which served students aged five to fifteen, more age-appropriate. St. Joseph's School in Wakefield, Massachusetts allowed it's students to select summer reading books in 2007, which led many students to read installments from the Harry Potter series. Once they returned to school, they found that these books had been removed from their library by Reverend Ron Barker, who did so because he believed that themes of sorcery and witchcraft did not belong in a Catholic school. While the Catholic Church has no clear standing on the books, the parents in the school district are divided over the Reverend's actions: some appreciate his efforts to protect students from witchcraft, while others wish the books were still accessible.

Hey Sarah, great work. I think the above are great examples to include in the article. Excellent rough draft as well, should implement it into article. Chrismulterer (talk) 15:52, 28 November 2016 (UTC)