Curricular Whiteout

Zalot, Andrew

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132940 Copy

Description

Title

Curricular Whiteout

Author(s)

Zalot, Andrew

Issue Date

2023

Keyword(s)

Library and Information Science

Abstract

Book banning has become an increasingly prevalent issue in recent years as the political climate grows increasingly tense. In one case, Art Spiegelman’s Maus was removed from school curriculum in McMinn County, Tennessee, over concerns that its material was inappropriate for students. My research deals with discourse analysis at the local level and in online spaces in relation to book bannings. Reading through the transcript of a McMinn County School Board, I was struck by the language used to describe the content of Spiegelman’s graphic novel, a Holocaust narrative. Board members expressed concern that the novel was too graphic for students and among the suggestions made by the board before they settled on outright removing the book from the curriculum was whiting out content the board felt was inappropriate. This image depicts the board member’s suggestion with a direct quote from them as a backdrop. The Maus case is just one of many book bannings this year alone and speaks to the challenges schools and libraries face in providing information access.

Type of Resource

• Text
• Image

Language

eng

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132940

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2023 Andrew Zalot

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