Education
UChicago’s Banned Books Scholar on the Chilling Effect of Censorship Efforts Across the US
As a longtime English language arts teacher in Florida, Dulcey Hunter knows firsthand the benefits of students reading banned books in the classroom and conversely, the chilling effect that book bans can have on educators.
Since September, Hunter has served as the University of Chicago’s inaugural banned books postdoctoral scholar, a role that aims to highlight the importance of intellectual freedom and bring awareness to the rise in efforts to challenge or ban books in the U.S. and internationally.
Through her role, a joint appointment with UChicago Library and the Chicago Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression, Hunter will research the teaching of banned books through a trauma-informed perspective. Her research also considers how reading banned books in classrooms can help build empathy among students.
“The importance of that broader access to literature, even literature that goes into difficult themes, complex themes of trauma, grief or loss are incredibly important and valuable for students to be able to engage with,” Hunter said. “We’re seeing a lot of that being lost, compromised or constricted.”
While Illinois made waves becoming the first state in the U.S. to ban book bans three years ago, efforts to censor books in schools and libraries across the country reached a near-record high last year.
While Illinois educators might not experience the same level of fear or alarm as educators in other states when it comes to book bans, Hunter said, Illinoisans see what’s happening nationally and want to support fellow educators on the front lines, to band together in solidarity to fight against literary censorship.
The American Library Association saw challenges to 4,235 unique titles last year, the second-highest ever documented by the association. The highest documented was 4,240 challenges in 2023. Of those challenged titles last year, nearly 40% represent the experiences of the LGBTQ+ community and people of color.
The ALA also found more than 90% of book challenges were initiated by pressure groups, government officials and decision-makers. Hunter said it’s important for teachers’ voices to be centered in the discourse about book bans, and for teachers to be acknowledged for their expertise.
In her new role, Hunter started a monthly “Banned and Brilliant” series on social media to highlight banned books. Last month, she highlighted the book “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison. This month’s pick is “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood. Many of the books students study in English class are books that have at one point been either banned or challenged, Hunter said.
Opportunities to connect, build empathy and have a shared understanding over books that highlight the complex aspects of human existence and the shared parts of humanity are powerful and necessary, according to Hunter.
“Story is such an essential part of how we engage with the world, how we understand ourselves, how we preserve our histories, our memories, and collectively, how we pass that along to future generations,” Hunter said. “Being able to step into that and get as close as you can to the lived experience of another human being, … if we’re not giving those opportunities, it’s in effect, a further marginalization or cultural silencing, even cultural erasure.”
Contact Eunice Alpasan: [email protected]
