The right to free expression is severely threatened in many places in the world during our history and it ix stil being severely threatened in some parts of the world, yet it has also never been so passionately defended. This lecture focuses on the recent history of banned literature. It considers the changing nature of literary censorship, arguments in defence of free expression, why literary writers have so frequently pushed the boundaries of the acceptable, and the impact of technology on censorship and free speech.
Rachel Potter is Professor of Modern Literature at the University of East Anglia, she completed her PhD at King's College, Cambridge, where she also studied for her undergraduate degree. She writes on literature and censorship, free expression and writers organisations, modernist literature and early twentieth century culture. Prior to her PhD she took the MA in 'Critical Theory' at the University of Sussex. Before joining UEA in September 2007, she taught for seven years at Queen Mary, University of London, and her lecture chapters are the following:
- 00:00 Introduction
- 02:14 Banned books and freedom of expression
- 04:22 Why is freedom of expression important?
- 12:31 Parthenon of books
- 17:27 A history of banned books in the UK
- 39:53 Conclusion
