English Department, Sigma Tau Delta honor society mark Banned Books Week

By Kathy Lyday, faculty

September 21, 2022

A window display surrounded by warning tape at the English department office invites passersby to tear the paper and reveal the covers of banned books.
An interactive display on the third floor of the Alamance Building promotes discovery of banned books and their themes. Tear the paper to reveal the titles.

An interactive display in Alamance Building promotes the discovery of censored and blacklisted literature.

A portion of the window display with partially torn brown wrapping paper that says "Tear to see the hidden titles."
The interactive display invites users to “find” hidden books.

Since 1982, Banned Books Week has brought attention to the practice of a variety of groups that ban or restrict certain texts and authors. This form of censorship often is the result of sensitive subjects addressed in books, such as violence, offensive language, and sexist or racist language/situations. Each banned book has its own story about when and why it was banned.

A closeup of the cover of Toni Morrison's "Beloved" after paper was torn to reveal it.This year, the International English Honor Society, Sigma Tau Delta, has put up an interactive display for Banned Books Week 2022, Sept. 18-24 on the third floor of Alamance Building.

The theme this year is “Books unite us; censorship divides us.” If you visit the display, feel free to tear off the paper to reveal more banned books (you might be surprised!) and read the information about why books are banned and see the top 10 banned books of 2021-22.

For more information, visit bannedbooksweek.org or the American Library Association website, ala.org.

Written information about the display: "I read banned books: Banned Books Week, celebrating the freedom to read. Books are banned or challenged for many reasons: political and religious differences of opinion or intolerance (including Communism and occultism), sexual reasons (explicit and suggested sexual acts, sex, same-sex relationships, nudity, or other unaccepted sexual practices), obscenity, and social and cultural reasons (including racism, mixed-race relationships, rebellion, etc.)."

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