HuffingtonPost.com; Huck Finn Expurgated And Other Censored Books (PHOTOS):
"In 1818 American Thomas Bowdler published a series of Shakespeare translations, which he edited heavily for content that he considered offensive. The resulting texts were tamed versions of the originals. Since then, the act of edited or removing offensive content has been deemed "bowdlerizing" and it has taken place many times.
From Darwin to Dolittle, books have been bowdlerized for over two centuries at least. Here are just 7 instances to share. What are some other notable instances? Do you think books should be edited for objectionable content? Or should we let the originals be?"
I would post this to the discussion board, but it doesn't appear to be up yet.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" had Melissa Harris-Perry on the other night to comment on this issue. Dr. Harris-Perry is an Associate Professor of Politics and African American Studies at Princeton University. (More about her here:
http://melissaharrisperry.com/about.html)
Even if you're not a liberal/progressive/socialist/etc, I think it's worthwhile viewing.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/vp/40917922#40917922
Oh, and here's a "Room for Debate" from the New York Times on the same subject.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/01/05/does-one-word-change-huckleberry-finn