Celebrating intellectual freedom: Check out a banned or challenged book
What do To kill a Mockingbird, the Satanic Verses, Ulysses and even Harry Potter have in common? They’re all classics in their own right, and they’ve all been banned or challenged at one time or another.
From February 25 – March 3, McMaster University Library is joining public libraries, bookstores and schools across Canada in celebrating Freedom to Read Week, a nation-wide commemoration of the thousands of books that have been banned, challenged, or censored for any number of reasons, including sexuality, coarse language, racism, or religious objections.
Freedom to Read Week is an is an opportunity for Canadians to think about, and reaffirm, their commitment to freedom of expression and intellectual freedom.
In support of Freedom to Read Week, Library staff have a created a display – located in the lobby of Mills Library – made up of banned or challenged books, all of which can be checked out by students, staff and faculty.
Which banned or challenged Canadian book should you read? Take our quiz and find out!
A vast selection of books have been challenged, banned, or censored over the years – read through a list of 100 controversial books on the Freedom to Read Challenged Works database. Many of these books can also be found in libraries on campus.
Watch videos featuring some of the world’s most famous thinkers and scientists, the price they paid for talking about, or publishing their ground-breaking, but controversial ideas, and what that might look like today if they were on Twitter or Facebook:
