Banning Books/Banning Ideas

Donavan L. Ramon, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Ann Marie A. Short, Saint Mary’s College

"The people in those books never lived!" It's an ironic observation from Captain Beatty, which he uses to justify the burning of books in Fahrenheit 451 (1953). In 2023, Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel turned seventy years old. The book burnings in Nazi Germany, the Second Red Scare, and the McCarthy Era all inspired him to write it. Though World War II and the Cold War provided the global contexts for this novel, its thematic concerns not only persist today, but have been amplified.

While books are not being burned (at least not yet), book banning has certainly surged in recent years. Indeed, across school districts, prisons, and college and university campuses, censorship and book banning continue to increase, and the writers facing the most vehement criticism are those tackling issues related to race, gender, and sexuality. The statistics on banned and challenged books are sobering: the increase of bans on books that address LGBTQIA+ or race-related issues has occurred during a period in which bans on critical race theory have been introduced in 36 states, anti-trans laws have been passed in over 22 states, and LGBTQIA+ rights nationwide are in danger. This movement is not just about banning books or even ideas, but rather is an attempt to systematically silence the lived experiences of particular groups. As these statistics demonstrate, if you are not a straight White American in this country, you run the risk of having your experience completely invalidated by the national ethos of book burning.

It is distressing to see the surge in book banning and censorship, particularly targeting literature that addresses important social issues related to race, gender, and sexuality. In 2023, Florida banned the first Advanced Placement African American Studies course from being taught in its schools, while many scholars raised the alarm about the precarious state of English Departments across the country. There is some glimmer of hope though. That same year, Governor Jay Pritzker signed a law outlawing book bans, making Illinois the first state to prevent book banning legally, thus encouraging schools and libraries to foster equity, education, and diversity. If Fahrenheit 451 (which itself has been banned before) depicts a world where "books are banned and colleges are closed due to lack of students," some might argue that today we are inching closer to the society Bradbury depicts than we ever have before.

Anti-intellectualism has reached a fever pitch in the United States. As scholars of language and literature, we felt compelled to respond to this troubling trend. The result was a roundtable focused on Book Banning in the United States at the 2024 NeMLA convention, curated by the U.S. and Transnational/Diaspora Studies area and the Diversity Caucus. We were impressed by all of the submissions, the topics of which ranged from the banning of George Jackson’s The Blood in My Eyes to the rhetoric of obscenity. This special cluster showcases four of the presentations from that nuanced and energizing roundtable, offering a variety of perspectives on the important topics of book banning, censorship, and what trends around book bans and challenges reveal about the state of academic freedom and the freedom of creative expression in the United States. These presentations collectively demonstrate the excellent research being done by emerging scholars and provide a powerful rejoinder to the current state of anti-intellectualism. We must continue this dialogue and push back against censorship in all its forms.