This is based on an article that I recently read online. A group of incoming freshman at Duke University have refused to read a novel that was on the summer reading list, a graphic novel Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. The reason they are against this reading material is because of the discussions in the book regarding homosexuality and sexual situations. These students say reading this material goes against their religious beliefs. Some say it's because of the sex in the book and others say it is because of the homosexuality in the book.
First of all, I do want to say that when it comes to personal reading, I firmly believe that everyone has the right to read only what they enjoy. And if you feel something is pornographic, then just don't read it. That simple. But this isn't personal reading. It's required reading for school. Isn't the point of college to explore ideas that are different from yours? And does reading something automatically mean you agree with it.
That's what I thought about when I read this article. Duke University is a very prestigious university and these students are (presumably) very intelligent. Shouldn't they be able to read a book that has themes they don't necessarily agree with and be able to form an articulate discussion about its themes and merits?
One student said, "Duke did not seem to have people like me in mind,” he said. “It was like Duke didn’t know we existed, which surprises me.”
I honestly feel like this may be a result of banning books in earlier years. If you ban books with "questionable" material from schools, then kids are never introduced to themes they may not agree with and they are never taught to have intelligent discussions about controversial subjects. That is just my humble opinion.
What do you think of this issue? Have you ever had a moral objection to required reading in high school or college.
It's the entitlement generation, and that little quote you shared demonstrates that. Instead of opening themselves up and doing as they're required, it's all about me, me, me ... everyone needs to cater to what I want. There's a read a professor/school assigns certain books, maybe they should discover that reason and argue their stance after reading it. I read opposing views on issues all the time so I can understand another point of view and perhaps adjust mine. And yeah, these are supposed to be intelligent adults, can you imagine them in the real world if they're making a stink about something like this in college? Sad.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right Christy. I also call it "the wussification of America." That is what we are coming to. There are SO MANY books I have read with views that are different from mine. That doesn't mean I agree with them. But I have enjoyed books where the character does something I would never do.
DeleteMy opinion is, if you are over 18, you should be allowed to read and enjoy whatever books you want to read. If yu want to censor what YOU read, go right ahead. I draw the line at censoring what other people read. I'm also a firm believer in schools not forcing kids to read a designated book, but that they allow children to read what they want to read. I had a teacher in middle school who had similar rules. Every one of the kids in my class read at least 20 books that year, all of which we picked ourselves. Forcing kids to read a book that they hate makes them hate reading. That's where I stand :)
ReplyDeleteSarah, I do understand your point there. There are books I did not like when I was in school and part of it may have been because it was forced. That being said, schools do have curriculums, especially literature classes (which this one was). It would be a bit hard to have a literature class (or any other kind of class really) without some kind of required reading, right? Thanks for sharing your opinion. I appreciate it! :)
DeleteI am with Christy on this. I think, especially in college, books are picked for a reason. You don't have to love them. You can debate and what not in class on what you thought. If you don't like it drop the class or put on your big kid pants and read the book. They aren't asking you to change your personal views on a subject. And if you can't handle reading a book on something you don't agree with - well then the world is going to be a REALLY tough place for you. Love this post - really interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Grace! I agree with you completely. I think these kids assume that reading a book means they agree with it or that the school is trying to change their views. But that isn't necessarily the case. I think it's great for college students to be exposed to views different from theirs and then have an intelligent conversation about it.
DeleteLove Love Love this post. Thank you for bringing this topic to light because it is ridiculous how people cannot explore other ideas.
ReplyDeleteIm in no way a religious person but I have read books based on Christianity. Not so I can mock them but because other ideas and beliefs fascinate me.
So it greatly upsets me when others can't just have respect and understanding.
Thank you so much TopOfTheBookShelf! I am so glad that you agree. I am not a religious person at ALL either, but I have actually read books where the characters are very religious. Sometimes I like the books and sometimes I don't. But life would be pretty boring if I only read books about characters I agree with all the time.
DeleteI'm a liberal minded person. It makes me mad when people chooses to deny themselves their rights to knowledge and education simply because of religion. The one thing that they refuse to acknowledge is that just because their Bible says that homosexuality is a sin, it does not mean that reading about it is also a one-way ticket to hell. Killing is a sin. But reading about serial killers does not make you one. Stupid people.
ReplyDeleteSo true Joy!! And one of my favorite books this year (You by Caroline Kepnes) is told from the POV of a crazy stalker/killer. I loved that book and loved reading from his perspective. Does that mean I think stalking and killing people is okay? Of course not.
DeleteI was just flabbergasted when this group of students made such a big deal of refusing to read an assigned book. They're young adults, not little kids -- asking them to read something that does not mesh with their personal beliefs is not going to make them hate reading forever or destroy their moral framework (... or it might if that framework is kinda shaky to begin with -- perhaps that's what they're afraid of).
ReplyDeleteDo they have the right to choose not to do the assigned reading because they think it is offensive? Absolutely. Is that choice kinda dumb? Yeah. Are 18 year olds prone to making dumb choices? Well, yes, and I honestly would be mortified now if some of the things I'd said/done at that age ended up all over the internet. And I'm sure that over the next 4 years some of those students are going to have way more serious crises of faith than this.
looloolooweez, thank you so much for your input! When I was in high school and college, I was forced to read stuff I didn't particularly like or agree with. But that's part of growing up and getting an education. You should be able to read things you don't agree with and still for an articulate opinion about them. And you are so right about 18 year olds making dumb choices. Since they are going to a prestigious University, I kind of expected better though. :)
DeleteWow, this is a FABULOUS topic. I agree that the students are being ridiculous. I mean, I had to read LOTS of books I didn't like in school. Many that included things I disagreed with on a personal level- I mean, for example: if a character smokes, and I am anti-smoking, does that mean I shouldn't read the book?
ReplyDeletePlus, Duke can tell you to read whatever they want. No one is forcing those kids to go to Duke, so if they don't like it, they can go elsewhere. Presumably a ridiculously conservative school that attempts to force archaic beliefs down students' throats, but whatever, to each his own.
I could go on and on about how their argument lacks merit, and how everything you said about your class debate and To Kill a Mockingbird is SO spot on but... can I please just smack these kids and their parents instead? What do you mean, that won't solve anything? ;)
Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight
Shannon, yeah I am just kind of surprised that this protest was coming from Duke and not some small community college or something. I mean, aren't the kids at Duke supposed to be among the best and the brightest? And smacking the kids and their parents may not solve anything, but it would probably make me feel better. ;)
DeleteAgh, I think there's a lot of banning and protests going on right now, aren't there?! I heard NZ banned a book...it's just ludicrous in my opinion. Although I do agree that you should only read what you want to read. BUT FOR SCHOOL!? Just suck it up and read it, gawsh. If you only fill your life with things you 100% agree and believe in then a) you live a very narrow minded life, b) you're pretty cut off, and c) you seem to have no concept that the world doesn't revolve around you. *sigh* So I totally 10000% agree with your post.
ReplyDeleteSo very, very true Cait! That's why the student's quote got me so much: it's like they expected the University to just cater to their needs and never broaden their horizons at all. Thank you so much for your response Cait!
DeleteI read about this previously, and I felt pretty much the way you do about it, BUT there was one thing that made me not so very sure - and that is the fact that the book is a graphic novel and contains images that depict sexual acts. In my opinion, images are different than the written word - it's been shown by scientific studies (wish I had some to actually quote here, but I'm too lazy to go searching I confess) that sexual images have a greater impact and a greater staying power in the brain than the written word. If someone chooses not to expose themselves to those, that's their choice, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteTHEN thinking about that actually made me start thinking more about sexual content in books in general. Should we really be upset if someone decides they don't want to read explicit sexual content? I'm not talking about homosexuality in general - I'm sure there have been plenty of books that featured homosexual characters assigned at Duke and no one refused to read those - this seems to be about the explicitness of the sexual content. And I get that people should be willing to broaden their horizons, but I also think that people should be able to set boundaries for themselves if they choose to, especially at a place like Duke. After all, a place of higher learning is all about thinking for yourself - not JUST following a professor blindly (which is pretty much what you're expected to do when you're younger). If some people felt like this book bordered on pornography, then I think it's their right to refuse to read it. Think about it this way - if a professor told students to go online and view pornography for its artistic value, most of us would scratch our heads at that and expect some people to refuse. Some of these students felt like that about this book and they refused to back down on their values just because a college professor somewhere said they should. I guess I don't see a problem with that.
Now, having said all that, it is a slippery slope. I would hope that students would only practice self-censorship in extreme cases, and for me, personally, I would choose not to do it at all - even if I really disagreed with something it's not like I wouldn't live through exposure to it. But I won't begrudge others who want to make their own decisions. (Yep, I know - I'm going back and forth here with the whole slippery slope thing - that's what makes this a great discussion topic - there are no EASY answers!)
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Nicole, thank you so much for your reply. You certainly gave me a different point of view to think about and I appreciate that. You are right that people shouldn't necessarily just follow their professors blindly. And yeah, there are no easy answers. I guess the main thing that irritated me was when the student said it was like Duke never thought there were students like him and it was like they never knew he existed. To me, that statement signifies that maybe he thought he would ONLY have to read things that he agreed with and that Duke would cater to him and his viewpoints. You make a good point about the fact that it is a graphic novel. That is a bit different because of the pictures and stuff. Like you said, this is such a slippery slope and I can actually see both sides (even if I may not agree with one of them).
DeleteGreat topic Cynthia! First off I love the way your professor handled your debate, it was a fantastic way to make you all think outside the box and to get into someone elses mind.
ReplyDeleteNow when it comes to reading, I'm all about making your own mind up. Read what you what. BUT when it comes to college, that's different. I can't see why you would refuse to read a book. The whole point of reading assignments is to have discussions. You don't have to like the book, the topics might be ones you don't agree with but just read the book and talk about them. I don't see how you can be qualified to make statements about the book if you've never even read it. And I kind of want to say, just suck it up! Your course work is your job while you are in college, just do it! No one is making you love the book but just read it and then talk about all your issues.
Thanks so much Trish! You are so right. You just have to suck it up, at least for college reading. You should be able to read a book that doesn't mesh with your beliefs and still form an articulate opinion about it.
DeleteI think that when students are at a college level, they should realize that there will be some books they are required to read that are not to their taste, and they have to deal with that! What would those same students say if a future doctor refused to read Gray's Anatomy because it included so much gore? I mean, come on!
ReplyDeleteI also think that reading about themes and characters that are out of our comfort zone is a good way to become more empathetic, and that is something that is just never wrong in my opinion.
The work you had to do with actually arguing for the opposite of your own opinion sounds like such a great idea, because you would have to read quite a bit about that opposite view point in order to be able to argue it correctly, and even if that didn't change your mind about the topic, you probable became better both at debating and at listening to people whose opinion differs from yours.
Excellent topic!
Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews
Thanks so much for your input Lexxie Lin! You are so right. I am 100% sure that this book was not required so that students could change their opinions about their faith or beliefs regarding sex and homosexuality. It was so these students could talk about these themes and form articulate opinions about them. Reading about it doesn't mean you agree with it.
DeleteWe didn't have a required reading list in school, we did had a long list of books we should choose books from if possible and most of those contained some controversial topics. A book will probably not change your mind, but it does give you the change to see a topic form another point of view or think about it. We often got assigned a side in debates so it could happen you had to argue in front of a side you didn't agree with, we also had to write papers where we had to write arguments before a statement and then afetr that talks about arguments for the opposite and then after that go back to your original argument and say things about the opposite arguments, it was an interesting way to think of multipel arguments for and against something. Grea post!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Lola! Like I said, I loved the assignments where we were forced to argue on a side we didn't agree with. Most people don't even think about the other side's position, let alone research it and argue in favor of it. It was a great way to teach me to think about things from someone else's POV. That is what I love about books. I have read so many books where characters did or felt things I didn't agree with at all. Some of those books I loved and some I didn't, but none of them changed my mind. And these students are wrong if they think that was part of the assignment. Part of growing up and getting a well rounded education is to realize that not everyone thinks like you do.
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