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Interesting to see where this goes - - do the comments go to commentary about academia, whether graphic novels are worthy of universities, commentary about millenials, or somewhere else?
Quote:
Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, a "family tragicomic," is a graphic memoir about the cartoonist's relationship with her distant father growing up and her coming of age as she grappled with her sexual identity. But although the committee tasked with giving incoming freshmen at Duke University a summer reading assignment knew the Bechdel book would be a "contentious" choice, some students have refused to read it altogether, the Duke Chronicle reports. "Because of the graphic visual depictions of sexuality … I feel as if I would have to compromise my personal Christian moral beliefs to read it," student Brian Grasso wrote in a July 26 post on the Class of 2019 Facebook page. Others say they may have consented to read about the topics in the novel if they weren't presented in a graphic format.
"The nature of Fun Home means that content that I might have consented to read in print now violates my conscience due to its pornographic nature," another freshman wrote in an email to the Chronicle. Grasso, who mentions both Christian and non-Christian students privately messaged him to thank him for speaking up, tells the paper he chose to post his thoughts on Facebook so others with similar moral stances wouldn't feel alone. "Duke did not seem to have people like me in mind," he says. "It was like Duke didn't know we existed." The co-chair of the book selection committee says the debate spurred by Grasso's post has been "very respectful and considerate," with other students backing the book choice. "Reading the book will allow you to open your mind to a new perspective and examine a way of life and thinking with which you are unfamiliar," another freshman commented on Grasso's post.
Let's just hope that reason and accommodation, rather than emotion and stridency (of which there's plenty on both sides of the fence) rule in the end in this case; it should be interesting to watch.
This is surreal. It's like book banning in reverse.
Can you imaging going back to 1950 and talking about your right NOT to read an assigned book? A lot of people fought hard for such rights.
"Reading the book will allow you to open your mind to a new perspective and examine a way of life and thinking with which you are unfamiliar . . . ."
And that is exactly the point of college aside from career prep.
I'm assuming this is an English class. I think such students should be allowed to take a different class with a different professor. Seems like a compromise to me. And then in 5 years this class will probably be so popular that it has a wait list.
Kids will soon be refusing to read Shakespeare due to all the murders.
There's a thread in the Education forum about this. The book is suggested summer reading and it sounds like only a few kids are making an issue about reading it. The kid quoted in the OP sounds like an attention seeker.
The impression given is that this graphic novel contains what is essentially tranny porn. If that impression is correct I see no problem with people refusing to read it. If it is really only part of a suggested reading list then someone's refusal to read it should not be controversial.
something like this should be listed in course description before class is taken, with plenty of disclaimers and warnings...so the student has NO excuses for not doing the required class work
I don't really want to read tranny porn...or tranny soft porn...or tranny romance...or tranny adventures...and I would NOT take a class if THIS caitlan jenner liberal agenda were being crammed down my throat...but there should be ample warning
Are you kidding me Christians?
I am sorry but they are being brats.
I don't like some of the books but I still read it anyway.
I am sick of religious people making a fuss about every little thing.
This is coming from the liberal Christian who writes crappy erotica
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