Orwell Censored! English university advises against “1984”: it could be “offensive”
Orwell smiles from beyond. The University of Northampton called the content in George Orwell's famous dystopian novel, 1984, potentially "offensive and upsetting", thus advising against reading it to more sensitive students.
The novel, which describes the dangers of totalitarian rule and censorship, is now marked with a warning sign, as it addresses "difficult issues relating to violence, gender, sexuality, class, race, abuse, sexual abuse. , political ideas and offensive language ". That is, it speaks exactly of the dangerous real world.
The warning, issued to students attending a module called "Identity under construction", went public following a request on freedom of information from The Mail on Sunday.
The news raised eyebrows among social media users, with one saying Orwell is "turning in his grave." In fact, as we said initially, Orwell, born Eric Arthur Blair, will be smiling from the other side as he sees what a prophet he had been.
"There is a lot of 'Big Brother' in this fact," Conservative MP Andy Bridgen commented on Twitter.
There's a certain irony when universities start adding trigger warnings to 1984. There's something very Big Brother about it.
University slaps a trigger warning on George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four https://t.co/q2pvrTNB9c
– Andrew Bridgen (@ABridgen) January 23, 2022
“If a 'Trigger warning' prevents even a student from reading 1984, the University of Northampton has completely failed in its mission. This book, more than any other, should be widely read right now, ”noted Australian professor Andrew Timming.
If a trigger warning prevents even one student from reading 1984, the University of Northampton has utterly failed in its mission. This book, more than any, should be read widely at the moment. https://t.co/COCM5Ces4t
– Prof. Andrew R. Timming (@timminglab) January 23, 2022
However, Orwell's classic novel isn't the only one Northampton students should beware of, according to the university's management. Samuel Beckett's play “Endgame”, Alan Moore and David Lloyd's graphic novel “V For Vendetta” and Jeanette Winterson's “Sexing The Cherry” have also been listed by the university as “offensive and shocking”. Maybe someone could ask himself whether it was the purpose of these texts, that of proposing a harsh and shocking reality. Politically correct no longer even allows us to describe the dangers of reality and politics. Everything must be censored, because a person could be offended.
The university, currently ranked 108 out of 132 UK universities in the 2022 edition of The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, has released a statement to defend its warnings. The university defended itself by saying that "although it is not a university policy, we may warn students of content in relation to violence, sexual assault, domestic abuse and suicide" because "some texts may be difficult for some students". Right, you have to keep the students in cotton wool. The real world may be too much for them …
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The Orwell Article Censored! English university does not recommend "1984": it could be "offensive" comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/orwell-censurato-universita-inglese-sconsiglia-1984-potrebbe-essere-offensivo/ on Mon, 24 Jan 2022 10:10:20 +0000.