Schools Need Literature More Than Ever in These Authoritarian Times

 

"Great works of literature--works that are truly dangerous--question and expose that dictatorial impulse, both on the page and in the public space." Azar Nafisi, Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times

Why all the sudden "book bans" in our public schools? It is rather simple: to protect an authoritarian perspective of the world, because any literature that has the potential to cause students to question the legitimacy of that view is unacceptable and access to it must be prevented.

As Nafisi points out, great works of literature are truly dangerous. I would add that even not so great works that have the potential to cause students to think for themselves is also dangerous, at least to those whose goal is to impose their worldview on others. 

We live in a current climate where authoritarianism is vigorously asserting itself. It can't have citizens who can think for themselves, so the purging from the shelves of libraries is underway. The lesson that has not be learned is that such purges always fail in the end.

We as educators need to recognize that reading is a dangerous activity if it is done well and widely. Reading that disturbs our thinking and transforms us is powerful and is what is needed, not reading that simply confirms our mediocrity.