Summary: What would you censor in your classroom?
I firmly believe that most literature has a teaching moment within. Therefore censorship is a hard topic for me to draw an exact line of what I would censor in a classroom. Smut books or explicit sexual content books however, are materials I would not bring into a classroom, because their main purpose is bringing a certain pleasure which is irrelevant in a classroom.
In our group discussion I brought up the fact that too much censoring of books could actually be a bad thing. I shared an experience of two specific libraries where the librarians are completely different in their book selection. One librarian is open to the suggestions of teachers, where the other holds books back because of innocent content which she believes is inappropriate.
If we are reading a historical novel using the word Negro, many people would exclude the word or change it. However, this changes the context of the book, which would not reveal exactly what the Author is writing. Therefore too much censoring can change a real teaching moment.
Theme: Appropriation of Voice: Who owns the story
This theme directs itself towards Authors who use incorrect information in their works, with great rewards. Their work often becomes bestsellers and may have awards linked to the title however they are misinforming the general public on a case or situation which is real.
Theme: Empathic Interest or Appropriation
This theme directs itself towards writing about a culture or a way of life that is not their own. It raises the issue of how a writer can claim a relationship or connection with through their work, but never actually have the connection. Therefore they need to refrain from speaking for the culture but rather do necessary research aiming for accuracy of the culture being explored.