Last year, I wrote about the importance of reading challenging texts and mentioned a new book on my list called Literature and the New Culture Wars by Deborah Appleman, published 2022.

I finished the book in November, and I highlighted so many passages! In classrooms nationwide,  movements such as cancel culture, #METoo, and trigger concerns have reshaped the politics of teaching literature. 

Appleman argues that she wants to preserve the importance of literary reading. “Literature helps us think and feel and provides windows into the lives and perspectives of others. It helps us to understand what it means to be human. Through literature, we will be awed by the beauty and confronted with the complexity of the human condition. We can also confront some ugly truths about humankind, truths that should not be avoided. The power of literature should not be removed by cancellation or censure or be blunted by trigger warnings (10).

Appleman questions: What will remain for our students if we remove all literary works with texture, complexity, and realism? 

• A rote curriculum completely devoid of opportunities to confront and discuss real-world issues in a safe space? 
• A list of texts that meet students exactly where they are in terms of beliefs, experience, and perspectives? 
• A menu of readings that does not provoke, disrupt, or challenge? 

“Society in general and educators in particular will fail students miserably if we let that happen” (13). 

“We can lay bare inequalities and issues of racism and sexism not by refusing to teach the offending texts, but by doing the opposite: actually teaching them” (13). 

“For instance, Mice and Men. Steinbeck spent time working with migrant workers to capture the nuances of their lives. Reality is ugly. It is full of complexities and thorny moral dilemmas. Part of the function of literature is to present that ugliness as well as those dilemmas” (Appleman 15). 

“Steinbeck is inviting us to consider these dynamics and to be as outraged as he was. To ban the novel is to ban Steinbeck’s invitation for us to engage with and empathize with these characters” (Appleman 17). 

Appleman posits: “We are creating a culture that can lead to a kind of heartless bullying. It also prevents the development of what William Perry (1970) categorized as relativistic thought, the ability to inhabit and understand perspectives that are different from one’s own, a cognitive stance that is critical for a healthy educational culture as well as a democracy” (36). 

Students of color do not see themselves represented in the books generally taught in the class and might feel that white culture is pushed upon them. 

The classics are still important as they can be a way to learn about our history of suppressing BIPOC voices and examining and understanding the country’s racist past. 

Texts like To Kill A Mockingbird, and Jane Eyre have enduring value and contain deep insights into the human experience. 

Many teachers use Literature Circles. In Literature Circles, several groups of students read a different novel. The students study, read, and work together to understand their text. When I taught in the classroom, I used more diverse texts in these circles, and students could choose which circle they wanted to be in. 

We need to have honest conversations about race, class, and gender. Curriculums should include books that teach students to live and interact with people who are different from them. As teachers, we need to be open to changing our curriculum to include diverse texts taught alongside the classics. 

“Powerful literature can be a catalyst for future writers of all races, and that is one reason why we need to make sure it keeps getting taught,” Fishkin said. “Walt Whitman was of crucial importance to Maxine Hong Kingston … Mark Twain was a major influence on [Ralph Ellison],” writes Joel Chien.

The next two thirds of the book include discussion about Cancel Culture, Trigger Warnings, Woke, and Troubled Texts. More to come about this book and the insights I gained from reading it.