Some potential problems that I have/will run into:
-After researching literary censorship cases in Rhode Island, I realized that getting information is going to be extremely difficult. There was little to no information about literary censorship in Rhode Island!
-Researching just censorship in general brought up cases at Rhode Island College, which is not what I was looking for at all! I don't want to start debating about the good/bad results of censorship at Rhode Island College, especially if it involves professors that are on the project board.
Basically, I started getting into some problems with lack of material, and material that don't fit the direction that I wanted to go in. I'm trying to re-work my ideas and see if there is a different direction that I could approach censorship in relation to schools or its impact on English. I was thinking of maybe looking into author's reactions of censorship, or from the author's point of view. There are a lot of interviews and articles where authors talk about the impacts of censorship, so I think it would focus more on English and it would alleviate any school problems.
Have you looked at the American Library Association website? They track censorship in schools and public libraries. They divide the censorship into two categories: materials that were censored (removed) and materials that were challenged (someone tried to censor it and failed). There is also self-censorship were librarians don't buy certain books in order to avoid the issues related to the books. Have you limited your search only to academic journals so far? Or have you just been google-ing?
ReplyDeleteHere's a website to check out if you haven't already:
http://www.ala.org/offices/oif
http://www.ala.org/offices/oif/ifissues/censorshipschools
There is a lot of self-censorship that occurs in schools to prevent disputes about books.
This may or may not help you out depending what direction you want to go in now, but check it out. My mom worked for years as a librarian and she recommended this organization. She dealt with people's attempts to ban books (which ended up being unsuccessful) and censorship in the past.
Thank You! This website is super informative and will definitely help me define the different types of censorship.
ReplyDeleteProfessor Cook suggested that I narrow my topic down to local challenges and just present the facts, which is where my problem lies; there is little information about Rhode Island challenges. Self-censorship is something that happens on a daily basis, but there is no way to track or find "facts" about it, because many people do not admit that they self-censor.
Jessica: Kate is a great critical friend! Wow! ALA is a great resource, as is the ACLU, which is the American Civil Liberties Union and protects people from Second Amendment inequities.
ReplyDeleteAnd, when I suggested doing a local study, I meant that you'd be focusing on one school or one town and interviewing people there--students, teachers, parents--about their experience with or reaction to censorship. Remember that you're not writing a report on censorship; you need to engage in original research about it. So, what are you going to say that hasn't been said? That's where I need your mind to be headed...what can you bring to this conversation that hasn't already been written about or said? What about students reactions to censorship? Does anyone ever ask what the students think? Or, are we always just trying to tell them what's best for them? An idea...
Just like with Katie, this conundrum all goes back to your research question. Without a well-crafted and precise enough question, you're not going to truly know what you're focusing on. So, you may think about sitting down to work micro instead of macro...work on honing and articulating exactly what it is that you want to find out about censorship. WHAT and WHY.
After reading both comments again, I've realized that I'm thinking more like a normal report versus a research project. Ive decided that I want to look more at students reactions and how censorship effects them.
ReplyDeleteYou must watch this! I'm teaching this graphic memoir in my FYS right now!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNgLkDZVdOY