Between Pages and Politics: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Book Bans

Authors

Hannah Morrison, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

First Advisor

Gabrielle Owen

Second Advisor

Jillian Harpster

Third Advisor

Shari Stenberg

Date of this Version

4-2024

Document Type

Article

Citation

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts

Major: English

Under the supervision of Professor Gabrielle Owen

Lincoln, Nebraska, April 2024

Comments

Copyright 2024, Hannah Morrison. Used by permission

Abstract

Across the United States, school boards are being inundated with requests to ban books. While these conversations are often localized, what the rise in censorship across the country suggests is that there is a fierce movement behind censoring young adult literature. What is frequently erased in these campaigns are stories of people of color and queer communities, alongside topics such as sexuality, drugs, or violence. The presiding conclusion within childhood studies on how we have reached a point where censorship is abundantly common in American schools is that public discourse views children as less than or not fully formed, thus decidedly incapable about making choices in their education. Through the work of childhood studies, education, and developmental psychology, this is unmistakably false. In order to better approach children and adolescents more ethically and understand them as whole individuals, we must practice unknowing. It is crucial to meet children and adolescents where they are without preconceived notions about what an adolescent is. Teachers on a daily basis practice this unknowing with their students, and it is crucial for others to join the effort and give students the credit they are due when it comes to selecting books in order to treat them most ethically.

Advisor: Gabrielle Owen