This is more a question that has arisen in my mind due to the current assignment for this class than an issue I'm grappling with, but as my group is comparing Banned Books in Canada vs those in the US and we're having very little luck finding banned books in Canada. Challenged yes, banned, not so much. It crossed my mind to wonder how we actually defined banned. Banned where? And by whom? Does even one banning count enough to bring a book to notice? It should in my mind, but I'm just wondering.
If anyone actually reads this, what's your opinion?
Julia, this is a tough question, and I would have to say that the banning has a lot to do with the intention of the person who asks for the ban. Borrowing from the ALA's site on Banned Books Week, I would say that a ban is anything that attempts to restrict "the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular."
ReplyDeleteI realize that speaking to one's "intentions" does not help you in terms of your project, as one's intentions are too subjective of a notion to be put to use in an "official" capacity, but it's hard for me not to consider and conjecture about one's intentions when examining challenges and calls for banned materials.
I had a similar problem arise in the usage of "banned" for the assignment two paper. While researching sources pertaining to the removal of Vamos a Cuba from the Miami-Dade School District, I noticed that some sources referred to the book's banning, while others referred to its "removal." As bordersagas pointed out, it seems like there is a legal connotation to banning that's closely related to censorship. But for an ongoing case without any definitive legal opinion or closure, the issue of whether a book is banned or removed remains open to debate. Of course, even if a court issues a ruling saying a book was removed for legitimate reasons (e.g. "educationally unsuitable"), detractors may still employ their 1st Amendment rights and express their dissenting opinion by continuing to refer to the book's banning or censorship.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is difficult to define 'banned.' I think it is more accurate to track challenged books than actually banned books, not to mention easier. In any case one would have to also be aware of every challenge and banning. Which, as is mentioned by the OIF, is not an easy thing to accomplish. I wonder too.
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