Course:LIBR548F/2010WT1/Censorship and its Forms
Introduction
Censorship is the prohibition, distribution, circulation, or display of a work by a governing authority that is considered to be objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or convenient. It is often employed by local and national governments, religious authorities, and the mass media in an effort to control or protect population groups.
Rationale
Books are often the subject of moral, political, and religious censorship.
Moral censorship is the censoring of materials for the purpose of controlling access to content that is deemed offensive.
Political censorship is the censoring of materials for the purpose of controlling access to material that is found to be subversive.
Religious censorship is the censoring of materials for the purpose of controlling access to material that is considered heretical.
Forms of Censorship
Book Banning
Book banning is the practice of removing or restricting book materials. In order for a book to be banned, it must first be challenged. If it is successful, then the challenge results in a ban.
Book banning is frequently related to juvenile literature. The Harry Potter series, for example, is on the American Library Association’s list for most challenged or banned books of 2000-2009. The most commonly cited reasons for banning the series include, “stories are too violent, present “occult activities” as fun, are anti-Bible, depict sorcery and magic, and open the door to “spiritual bondage.”
Book Burning
Book burning, or libricide, is the intentional destruction of books by fire. This method of control is usually carried out in the public sphere. Book burning has occurred frequently throughout history. In some cases, the challenged books were burned but the author survived. In other cases, the books were burned either prior to or after the author was executed.
Instances of book burning continue into the present. The Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Waynesville, North Carolina is the host of an annual book burning event. At Halloween, members of the church gather together to burn versions of the Bible that they have deemed “heretical,” along with popular works by fiction and non-fiction authors such as Mother Teresa, C. S. Lewis, and Dan Brown.
Expurgation
Expurgation, or bowdlerizing, is the changing of text in a literary work by altering or deleting words or passages that are considered to be objectionable.
The term “bowdlerize” is derived from the name of Dr. Thomas Bowdler, who in 1818 published ten volumes of “family-friendly” editions of William Shakespeare’s play under the title, Family Shakespeare. Each play was edited for foul and blasphemous language and sexual content.
Prior-restraint
Prior-restraint occurs when legal action is taken that prevents communications from achieving publication.
Self-censorship
Self-censorship: Prior restraint – Bantam Books v. Sullivan