Is this issue about HF or about a much bigger issue? I
Dr. Britton:
Is this issue about HF or about a much bigger issue? I've been listening,
watching and reading the commentary from numerous sources and it appears to me
HF is just a part of a much grander agenda - rewriting and thereby "softening"
the way things were. For example, will the next step be a rewriting of "Uncle
Tom's Cabin" and other literary works that depict a time different than what
really existed? Much of the history of the West and the treatment of the
Indians does not describe actual events, broken promises, etc. Just saying.
________________________________
From: Wes Britton <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Thu, January 6, 2011 10:44:47 AM
Subject: the cost of teaching HF
=20
Back in 1990, 1991, I taught Huck at an all African-American college in =
Dallas, TX. I wasn't certain this would fly, but the new English Chair =
said to do what I thought was right. So, with considerable thought, I =
led up to Huck by teaching Frederick Douglass and then Charles =
Chesnutt's "The Goofered Grapevine," the latter specifically to discuss =
black writers using the N word. This allowed me to come at the subject =
by way of a black author before hearing it in the words of Twain.
=20
As it happened, this unit coincided with a controversy at a nearby =
school district where a parent was spearheading a drive to dump Huck =
from the school. Racial tensions were rather high as the Rodney King =
riots had happened just a few months before. So the very hot issue was =
in the air, to put it mildly. So, for me, the most memorable moments =
occurred on the final day of talking about Huck.
=20
I asked the class to pretend we were on "Nightline" and that Ted Koppel =
was asking them about reading Huck in light of the current discussions. =
How did they feel about a class of black students reading the book? The =
responses ran the gamut-1/3 of the class decided the book should be =
taught at a higher grade level, but not to classes 7th grade or lower. =
About 1/3 thought the book should be banned, period. (I learned later, =
judging from their exams, some of these folks had simply refused to read =
it in the first place.) Another third said the book should not be =
banned. One of these girls told the class that her father had not =
allowed her to read it in high school, had thrown the book in the closet =
calling it trash. "This is that book," she said, holding up the book. =
That was rather a poignant moment for everyone.
=20
=20
I learned several things in that class and others to follow. The N word =
was almost secondary to the shame and embarrassment of talking about =
"slavery times." Several students complained both Twain and Chesnutt =
were exaggerating black speech as they did not like the idea slaves =
spoke in non-standard dialects. Those who championed the book were =
elated when they discovered Jim was the hero of the story and listed off =
the attributes that endeared him to them. But, over and over, in this =
class and others, the core of student pain was slavery times, and I =
suspect this will be ever thus.
=20
A few weeks after this unit, I was fired by the college, the VP citing =
the teaching of Huck as the core reason. Would things have turned out =
differently had I taught an expurgated version? I doubt it. Intelligent =
students would know a euphemism is just a euphemism-but a clear =
distinction seemed plain. A black writer dealing with racism has =
credibility; a white writer, any white writer, could not touch the 3rd =
rail.
=20
Over the years, the N word has popped up when I least expected it. I =
recall teaching "The Big Bear of Arkansas" at a different college when a =
black student told me he was enjoying the story until the word was =
uttered by one character, and then he lost interest in the story. Just =
one utterance, the story was dead. So should the word be removed? Here, =
there, and everywhere?
=20
=20
Capitulating to those who object to offensive language, imagery of =
witchcraft etc. etc. has already cost us much. When a colleague of mine =
used an M&M song in a class on, of all things, Banned Books, one student =
complained about being offended and her parents ran a campaign to get my =
friend fired, or at least, punished in some way. The college president =
wanted to remove him from teaching honor classes as an appeasement =
until the faculty revolted. A teapot tempest, perhaps, but the point is =
academic freedom and Freedom of Speech are always under assault. The =
bastardized HF surely invites those objecting to other texts to propose =
similar guttings in future editions. =20
=20
=20
=20
=20
=20
Dr. Wesley Britton
www.spywise.net
Co-host, Dave White Presents
www.audioentertainment.org/dwp
|
