Castleton Professor Takes Aim at Banned Books

Bill Wiles, who recently finished up his 17th year as a parttime English instructor at Castleton, has turned an issue he is passionate about into a course to educate students on the problems caused by presenting an inaccurate version of history.

“When I first proposed this course, I thought it would be something interesting for college students to look at,” Wiles said. “Then, the top blew off with concerted efforts at the local and state levels to restrict what students can and cannot know. I believe that ideas and information need to be brought out into the light of day so that people can discuss them without fear of reprisal.”

Wiles banned book class, which launched last fall, aims to bring awareness to the restriction of literary content in the present day and throughout history. Banned Book Week was established in 1982 to celebrate the freedom to read. It was launched following a surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores, and libraries. Held the last week of September, Banned Books Week brings people together in support of the freedom to express ideas, no matter how unpopular they might be.

Wiles says it is important that we don’t shield students from ideas that challenge how we look at the world.

“There is an argument used by those who want to remove books from libraries and school classrooms that some information is ‘not age-appropriate for elementary schoolaged children,’” Wiles said. “What they leave out is when it would be age-appropriate because they don’t want the information to ever be learned.”

“I believe that ideas and information need to be brought out into the light of day so that people candiscuss them withoutfear of reprisal.”

Wiles said that the idea of banning books has a long history but has resurfaced recently due, in part, to the political climate in the country. He cited the loss of meaningful conversations about what it means to be human as a side-effect of banning books.

“If students and teachers are only allowed to explore sanitized versions of history and literature, they lose the opportunity to grapple with ideas that challenge their sheltered view of the world,” he said.

Wiles has pushed back against the banning of books for many years, including at one point selecting only books from one banned list or another.

“I want students to become more comfortable being confused, disoriented, and uncomfortable with literary and non-literary texts,” Wiles said. “My hope is that they learn to argue with/about texts in a respectful, fair, and empathetic manner, bearing in mind that listening is a key part of ethical argument.”