Since 2021, there has been a dramatic increase in censorship attempts and book bans in school and public libraries across the United States. Largely fueled by organized conservative groups, the steep rise in the censoring of books puts guiding principles of democratic societies at grave risk—including intellectual freedom and therefore the freedom to read.

Framing literary reading as a critical counterpractice to the growing prevalence of book censorship presently occurring in and beyond the United States, this seminar introduces students to the topic of book banning as well as its social and political consequences. Through the close reading of contested or banned books as primary texts—alongside the engagement with secondary literature, resources provided by the American Library Association (ALA) and PEN America, and media such as documentaries and artworks—, students will create and curate artistic forms of expression in the individual block seminar sessions that reflect their own perspectives on reading as an affective and political practice.