Organizations to contact. Book bans threaten democracy / The Comstock Act and the history of banning 'obscene' material / Breanna Crossman -- The relationship between book censorship and the mail / Isabel Hofmeyr -- The Enlightenment and intellectual freedom / Council on Foreign Relations -- Free speech and its limits / Signature Theatre -- Legal arguments for free expression / David Hudson -- Today's book bans resemble book banning debates from the 1980s / Fred L. Pincus -- Is book banning legal and justifiable? Censorship laws and the theater / Kate Dossett -- Banning books violates the right to free speech and harms students / David Wippman and Glenn Altschuler -- The legality and constitutionality of book banning is complicated / Erica Goldberg -- New legal questions about banning books / Kelley R. Taylor -- Teens played an important role in legally preventing book banning / Debra Lau Whelan -- Is book banning good for education? How schools decide which textbooks to use / Tagari Publications -- The importance of diversity in children's literature / BJ Woodstein -- Book bans are a political tool / Alex Bacalja -- Why parents are banning books / Finlo Rohrer -- Is book banning good for society? The negative impact of book bans on education / Anthony Zurcher -- Book bans are fundamentally wrong / Jay Pfeifer -- Censoring offensive language doesn't benefit students / Jessie Tu -- Book banning happens around the world / John Maher and Ed Nawotka -- Book bans threaten democracy / Breanna Crossman -- For further discussion -- Organizations to contact.
Summary:
"Learning about a wide range of information and perspectives through access to books is generally considered an inherent characteristic of the educational system. However, debates around banning books suggest that there are potential downsides to giving young people access to certain literature, particularly books with violent or sexual content. This volume considers both sides of the debate, with arguments supporting students' right to access literature free from censorship and other viewpoints supporting the right of parents and teachers to choose which books should play a role in students' education. This title also looks at the historical, legal, and cultural contexts for this timely debate." -- Publisher description.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.