Banned Books, Burned Books: Forbidden Literary Works

By: Maureen Corrigan, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Maureen Corrigan

Length: 13 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Throughout the 24 lectures of Banned Books, Burned Books: Forbidden Literary Works, author and book critic Professor Maureen Corrigan of Georgetown University will take you on a tour of some of the most challenged and controversial works of literature, from the plays of Shakespeare to 21st-century best-sellers—even including the dictionary and classic fairy tales. You will trace the history, in the United States and Great Britain, of the challenges to books, the censoring of books, book bans, and even burnings. You will explore the common reasons books have been and continue to be banned, including profanity, heresy, illicit or sexual content, racism, violence, and more. And you’ll consider the shifting trends in why books are challenged.

The challenging, censorship, and even destruction of works found to be offensive or threatening to the status quo is not new, but the nature of 21st-century communication and politics has certainly influenced the way books are evaluated and judged today. The rise of social media has blurred the line between an author’s work and their private life, while it has also given readers and would-be critics a platform to make their voices heard. And social justice movements have brought race, sexual identity, and other issues to the forefront of the consideration of literature and its influence on culture.

These new elements certainly influence how we approach censorship now, and yet many of the complaints brought against books today are not so different from the criticism of a century (or several) earlier. And the taboo and forbidden nature of banned books has its own special appeal for the human psyche as well, making literary censorship an especially complicated and fascinating subject. As you consider the broader history of book censorship, you will hopefully find yourself thinking more rigorously about your own views on intellectual freedom and the right to read.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 The Great Courses (P)2023 The Teaching Company, LLC

Another Great Course!

While I agree it is odd to censor the cuss words in a course about censorship, I think there was only 3 cuss words in the whole course.

Maureen presents the information about banned books from a non-bias standpoint and invites the listener to form their own options on the books, although she does share her opinion on many of the books.

Wonderful listen and highly reccomended to anyone who wants to know more about banned books!

The History of Banned Books

I love the way the narrator challenged listeners to deeply consider both sides of the arguments on banned books, but also detrimental consequences to the progress of our country and the world, really, from such book bans. I found this course profoundly important.

I have a question

I like the course. It is a good overview of the history of banned books. My question is “Why wasn’t the obscenity trial of Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs mentioned?” It was a big deal and it could have been included as part of her lecture on “Howl” when she talked about Ginsburg’s friends, the Beats.

Great Literary Value

This was an excellent course on what books have been banned and the why behind the banning. There were a few times this was censored but I don’t think it took away from what the message was. I feel like it’s important to note the why behind these bannings and to understand why banning books is a bad idea. Excellent, very informative read. I would like to end by saying that if a book makes you uncomfortable, maybe you should ask why. Most of these bannings are about something that happens in real life.

I loved this course!

Great course that covers the key issues surrounding book banning. I could listen to Maureen Corrigan read the dictionary. She is a great narrator!

This is an excellent book

Thank you for expounding on intellectual freedom and human experience. Very worthy reading. 5 stars

Brilliantly done

An absolute pleasure to listen to. Smart, funny and insightful. The best great course I’ve listened to. Please do another Maureen!

Required Heading

Enjoyed but found it ironic, disappointing that a lecture about censorship censored cuss words.

The Best Critique I have ever Read on Banned Books

The audio course has been very well researched and Presented in this Exhaustive analysis.

Literary Value

This is an excellent course taught by a knowledgeable, liberal professor. The controversial subject matter, however, might lead some listeners to rate it poorly for political, ideological or religious reasons. If you've already decided that Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" offends you and should be banned, then you probably won't appreciate Professor Corrigan's balanced, sympathetic assessment of the text, nor are you likely to agree with her that "Mockingbird," though problematic, is redeemed by its literary value. Professor Corrigan is scrupulously fair in presenting the various challenges raised by the Right and the Left to the books she discusses, but some listeners will no doubt be outraged that she doesn't align herself with the censors/censorious. For me, Professor Corrigan's love of great literature and her detailed, often eloquent survey of banned books imbued this lecture series with a literary value of its own. I learned a lot from this timely and necessary course.