Examining Religion, Discrimination, and Antisemitism in Literary Censorship: A Panel Discussion In-Person
Join us during Common Hour for a panel discussion exploring the complex intersections of religion, discrimination, and book banning in contemporary society. Our panelists will examine religious freedom, LGBTQ+ rights, and antisemitism in literary censorship, followed by an open Q&A session where attendees can engage directly with these pressing issues.
Lunch will be provided for attendees who register in advance.
About the Panelists
Jason Blum is Associate Professor of the Practice in Writing at Davidson College. He holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies and works on religion and science, theory in religious studies, and topics at the intersection of religion, ethics, and society.
Nearly half of requested book bans concern materials with LGBTQ+ themes, and many of these efforts have either been undertaken by citizens whose objections are religious in nature or have been supported by religious advocacy organizations. This suggests an apparent conflict of two basic ethical and legal principles: antidiscrimination and freedom of religion. I argue that banning LGBTQ+-themed books in public schools and libraries constitutes discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community and that governmental refusal to ban these materials does not constitute antireligious discrimination.
Scott Denham has taught German language, literature, and cultural history, especially Holocaust history, at Davidson since 1990.
First in McMinn County, Tennessee, in January 2022, then in Fall 2023 in Christian County, Missouri, school boards moved to ban Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning comic Maus, a profoundly moving Holocaust memoir and history. Scott Denham responded by teaching “Mauscourse,” a free online course for students and parents in those school districts; he collaborated with Jewish comics expert Prof. Barbara Mann, Stephen H. Hoffman Professor of Modern Hebrew at Case Western Reserve University, early on in the project. Scott will argue that bans of Maus are rooted in antisemitism and align with white supremacist and Christian nationalist Holocaust denial.