Banned Books & Freedom of Speech

September 25 through October 2 is the annual Banned Book Week, sponsored by the American Association of Librarians (ALA). Throughout history, more and different kinds of people and groups of all persuasions than you might first suppose, who, for all sorts of reasons, have attempted—and continue to attempt—to suppress anything that conflicts with or anyone who disagrees with their own beliefs.

In his book Free Speech for Me—But Not for Thee: How the American Left and Right Relentlessly Censor Each Other, Nat Hentoff writes that "the lust to suppress can come from any direction." He quotes Phil Kerby, a former editor of the Los Angeles Times, as saying, "Censorship is the strongest drive in human nature; sex is a weak second."

Censorship can be subtle, almost imperceptible, as well as blatant and overt, but, nonetheless, harmful. Often challenges are made with the best intentions, usually by parents, motivated by a desire to protect children from "inappropriate" sexual content or "offensive" language.

Censorship by librarians of constitutionally protected speech, whether for protection or for any other reason, violates the First Amendment. As Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., in Texas v. Johnson, said most eloquently: "If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable."

If we are to continue to protect our First Amendment, we would do well to keep in mind these words of Noam Chomsky: "If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all."

ProQuest has created a collection of hundreds of BookCart learning activities to help teachers and students go beyond textbook learning and integrate 21st Century inquiry-based learning.

This collection includes "Banned Books and Censorship Issues," and can be easily copied to your local collection following these instructions:

• Open eLibrary CE TEACHER EDITION.
• Click BOOKCART ADMIN link at the top.
• Click the PROQUEST CARTS tab (800 ProQuest models).
• Type "Banned Books" in the Search box.
• Click the COPY icon in the ACTIONS column to the right of the title.
• Click RETURN TO MY LOCAL CARTS tab to end the copying process.

Librarians or teachers can edit this BookCart to customize it for their students. To edit this BookCart:

• Click the new BookCart TITLE with the prefix "COPY OF".
• Delete "Copy of" and then type your name in the AUTHOR boxes and your initials in the EMAIL box (required filler info).
• Option: Edit any ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS for your students in the DESCRIPTION box.
• Option: Edit the existing STUDENT DIRECTIONS in the Description box.
• Scroll down and click SAVE.
• Click RETURN TO MY LOCAL CARTS and view your new student learning activity.

You can copy, edit, and adapt these models to differentiate instruction for your students. Learn how to copy or create BookCarts learning activities.

Good news! Reviewing and copying hundreds of ProQuest model BookCart learning activities has been made more convenient by using the new hyperlinked titles list (PDF), organized by curriculum area.

Students need to learn more about the First Amendment, censorship, and banned books. Assign students to complete a report of at least 150 words that cites at least three resources. Or students may choose a PowerPoint report of at least two minutes and seven slides. Student should us the pathfinder listed below to save time and ensure the best results.

Students should also address the following essential questions for critical thinking (you may substitute others):

• Why are some books banned from school and public libraries?
  
  
• Who should make the decision about which books to ban from school and public libraries?
  
  
• What criteria would you use to exclude books from public libraries and why?
  
  
• What is the difference between a challenged and a banned book and why?

Type "Banned Books" in the Search box to locate one of thousands of Essential Pages created by our editorial staff.

Your students can use our custom ProQuest models for written and PowerPoint-style reports.

Teachers may be interested in a ProQuest flexible rubrics model for evaluating inquiry-based learning activities.

Educators may also wish to employ the Quizinator Web tool (free, but registration required) for creating a variety of printed resources, including short assessments.

The Beat Generation, a movement which took shape in the mid-1950s, had a far-reaching influence on both literature and American culture. One of the movement's exemplary figures, the novelist and poet Jack Kerouac (1922 - 1969), coined the title of the movement.

The term "Beat" had been adopted for its vernacular meaning of down and out, or "beaten" down. Artists of the Beat Generation saw this condition of alienation and social rejection as a means to deeper understanding, or an enlightenment which transcended the mundane world.

Assign students to learn more about anti-establishment authors, many of whose books were on a variety of challenged or banned books lists. Assign students to read the Study Page and open at least three resource links, using the pathfinder listed below.

Students should then address one of the three Study Questions at the end of the page and write an essay of at least 150 words.

Click the Study Pages tab > click Literary Movement Pages > The Beat Generation

Teachers may be interested in a ProQuest flexible rubrics model for evaluating inquiry-based learning activities.

Educators may also wish to employ the Quizinator Web tool (free, but registration required) for creating a variety of printed resources, including short assessments.

In the early 1960s, a New Left emerged among middle class, predominantly white American college students, partly inspired by the Civil Rights movement.

Widespread opposition to the Vietnam War and contacts with similar student movements in France and Germany broadened the appeal of the American New Left. It became a protest against prevailing social values and institutions, an attempt at establishing a veritable counterculture.

Assign students to learn more about the emergence of protest-focused anti-establishment counterculture. Students should use the pathfinder listed below for access resources for this report. Student should write a report of at least 150 words that cites at least three resources and addresses the following essential questions for critical thinking (you can substitute others):

• What societal conditions in the U.S. usually result in "counterculture" movements?
  
  
• How successful are counterculture movements in changing the existing culture in the U.S.?
  
  
• How is the current "Tea Party" movement similar and/or different from the counterculture movements in the past?

History Study Center is available inside your eLibrary CE subscription, and as a standalone product.

Click History (in CE) then the Study Units tab > Type "Counterculture" in the Study Unit Title box > "Counterculture and the New Left in the United States"

Your students can use our custom ProQuest models for written and PowerPoint-style reports.

Teachers may be interested in a ProQuest flexible rubrics model for evaluating inquiry-based learning activities.

Educators may also wish to employ the Quizinator Web tool (free, but registration required) for creating a variety of printed resources, including short assessments.

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