Hal -  In my opinion the text is both victim and beneficiary of the larger social issue. I am not opposed to an endless debate about HF because it keeps the book on a kind of active duty in the war of social justice. As long as that remains the case, I say let them continue to rewrite it as long as they wish and corrupt it as much as they like. The habit of reworking even the most sacred works to suit changing social norms has been used at least since the advent of cuneiform. 

That said, your last statement is as polite a one as you need to make. 

On Feb 20, 2013, at 12:34 PM, Hal Bush wrote:

> Folks:  here is a brand new CFP from C19, titled "Teaching Racist Texts"...
> and guess what is this critic's star attraction?
> 
> I'm troubled by the concept of a "racist text" being displayed so
> cavalierly (especially now 40 years give or take after Derrida, Bakhtin et
> al)  and wondered if others on here would be too.  there are certainly
> racist tendencies in the text, but it's not exactly The Leopard's Spots or
> anything, right??
> 
> Further, it would seem that the author of a "racist text" is also a
> racist.
> 
> Much of this has been debated in Twain studies ad  nauseum, I know;  I'm
> just thinking of how to (politely?) respond, and show my displeasure at
> what I consider an unjust characterization of HF as a "racist text."
> 
> comments?  -hb
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Brigitte Fielder <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Wed, Feb 20, 2013 at 11:08 AM
> Subject: MLA 2014 cfp: Roundtable on Teaching Racist Texts
> To: [log in to unmask]
> 
> 
> Teaching Racist Texts: A Roundtable on Pedagogy
> 
> While continuing efforts have been made to incorporate a more diverse
> array of writers into the American literary canon, the problem of racism
> still presents a pedagogical challenge.  As literature courses seek to
> engage students in meaningful conversations about the assigned texts, they
> must also deal with the problem of those texts=92 content. Some literature
> contains material which is offensive =96 racial epithets, derogatory
> depictions of non-white people, assumptions of white supremacy.  The 2011
> New South Books publication of Mark Twain=92s Adventures of Huckleberry Fin=
> n
> sparked popular controversy by replacing the text=92s 219 uses of the
> =93n-word=94 with the word =93slave.=94  While this change makes the text m=
> ore
> palatable for some to read aloud, it does not evacuate all that is
> problematic about the texts=92 presentation of race and racism. Rather than
> evacuating, dismissing, or ignoring racist content, engaging students in
> frank conversations about the racism inherent in much of American
> literature will help them to address the difficult =96 sometimes offensive =
> or
> hurtful =96 content of the literatures we read, discuss, and write about.
> 
> The pedagogy of dealing with the racist content of American literature will
> be the subject of this roundtable.  Participants will share their insights
> into common problems encountered when teaching racist texts, and strategies
> for teaching students how to talk and write about this racism.
> 
> Moreover, the pedagogical practice of attending to racism can help students
> to better understand the literature at the center of our classroom
> discussions.
> 
> Roundtable discussion topics may include:
> 
> Student reluctance to talking about race
> Preconceptions about race and racism
> Historical contexts / racism in the present
> Dealing with dialect
> Redeeming texts / absolving authors
> Racist language =96 to repeat or not to repeat?
> Being mindful of students=92 racialized persons
> The embodied professor =96 who gets to talk about race?
> How to write about racism without sounding like a racist
> 
> 100-word abstracts by 15 March to Brigitte Fielder (
> [log in to unmask]).
> 
> --=20
> Brigitte Nicole Fielder, PhD
> Associate Lecturer in English
> University of Wisconsin, Madison
> Helen C. White Hall
> 600 North Park Street
> Madison, WI 53706
> 
> 
> 
> 
> --=20
> Prof. Harold K. Bush
> Professor of English
> 3800 Lindell
> Saint Louis University
> St. Louis, MO  63108
> 314-977-3616 (w); 314-771-6795 (h)
> <www.slu.edu/x23809.xml>

Alan Kitty
609-219-9339
[log in to unmask]
www.marktwainslaststand.com