Censorship has been a long and winding process within American literature, dating back to the 1900s and earlier, with restrictions on publications from new American colony leaders (William Penn promoting peace, and dissenting against England’s violent claim of Native American land) causing him to be imprisoned for his writings, up until what we see today, with the Supreme Court decision of Mahmoud v Taylor, which allowed parents to opt-out their children from being in a class that would read LGBTQ+ storybooks. Wheaton’s Beard and Weil Galleries is currently displaying an exhibition on themes of censorship, titled CTRL + DELETE, which will be on display until December 10th, 2025.
When speaking with Elizabeth Hoy, the museum curator for the Beard and Weil Galleries, located on the second floor of Watson Fine Arts, about why she was inspired to assemble this fall’s gallery around themes of censorship and banned books, she reflected on past galleries. The galleries have occasionally aligned with the Fall theatre production, as seen when the theatre performed Rent in Fall 2023. During that time, the galleries hosted an exhibition on Health and Care, raising awareness about AIDS, and displayed a quilt from the National AIDS Memorial. These departments work closely together and understand the importance of an interdisciplinary approach, as well as connecting themes through departmental differences and across medias. With this Fall’s Galleries, the departments felt it important to align their themes, with Theatre performing Urinetown this fall, a musical around the themes of capitalism, social injustice, social irresponsibility, and the satirical nature of bureaucracy.
Soft-censorship is the use of subtle, indirect pressure, usually in the form of economic pressure in order to control content and influence expression, rather than hard-censorship, which takes place as outright forceful bans. Soft-censorship is often seen as being used by governments to manipulate media, news outlets, schools, and libraries in ways to control the narrative. Soft censorship can be seen through the U.S. Supreme Court case Mahmoud v Taylor, and the case was ruled in favour of Mahmoud, allowing parents to opt their children out of classes in which an LGBTQ+ book would be read. The argument on Superintendent Taylor’s case was that this would lead to a high rate of student absenteeism, the ineffectiveness of the school administration in tracking these absences, as well as the social risk of isolating students who see their own families reflected in these books, being seen as a social stigma worth absence.
Hoy says censorship can effect in a number of ways, an influential once being, “Soft censorship is not a legal book ban, but when people are afraid of repercussions, they won’t put a book out on a shelf to begin with, and we’re seeing how that affects what even museums are showing I wanted to see how I could have an exhibition that would have us think more about that.”
Hoy was asked what conversations she hopes to spark about these themes in the galleries; she aims to prompt reflection through visibility. “I hope people see the books, recognize the books they know and love, and it makes them rethink the other books. Because these are important stories, having children see themselves in books and stories, and have their family reflected. Even if one isn’t part of the narrative, they are still important.”
She draws attention to the language of the books, written for children, and how they can still be important lessons for adults. An interactive screen in the exhibit promotes reflection on individuals’ own tendencies to self-censor, and encourages them to become aware of it.
When looking at the types of banned literature in the galleries, audiences are encouraged to pick up and read the numerous censored literature, YA novels, and children’s books, as well as a free Zine library outside the exhibition. The exhibition includes a Minecraft station where guests are welcome to explore the Uncensored Library, a Minecraft library with articles and publications from journalists all over the world who have been prosecuted for their writings are on display with free access to the public. The Uncensored Library shows the ingenuity of humans in continuing to read and distribute politically censored media.
Books written in response to Mahmoud v Taylor are viewed as resistance, the court case being seen as a call to action to the authors, with the 7 books that were chosen in the court case on display in the galleries.
When visiting the galleries, one is prompted to think and reflect on what we as individuals can do, and about how books can prompt discussion on democracy and rights to free speech, ensuring the public’s access to information and the freedom of ideas are upheld.