Here in UK ,the Education Secretary wishes to promote an English history curriculum - sounds familiar - but probably won't include the Suffragettes,Chartists and ,indeed,the tribes who invaded Angleland before the Romans - 

Dreading the Royal Family weddings already !

> Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 15:09:09 -0500
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: a new Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
> To: [log in to unmask]
> 
> Given the re-emergence of racial rhetoric from a variety of interesting =
> venues--Congress, Arizona, South Carolina, for example, it would seem to =
> me Twain's novel is a greater must-read than ever before WITH all of the =
> original language. I understand Alan's perspective, but I also realize =
> that we have entered into a phase where folks attending a secession ball =
> in South Carolina are lamenting the loss of their ancestors' lifestyles; =
>  where my home state of Texas  has determined students have read enough =
> history about Latinos, African Americans, Native Americans, women, and =
> any sort of difference; where the out-going Superintendent of AZ, Tom =
> Horne (who will  also now become AZ's Attorney General), has declared =
> all ethnic studies to be illegal: =20
> HB 2281
> The law bans K-12 classes that:
> 
> Promote the overthrow of the U.S. government.
> Promote resentment toward a race or class of people.
> Are designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group.
> Advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of students as =
> individuals.
> "It becomes the duty of the people of Arizona, through their elected =
> leaders . . . to put a stop to this, and to be sure that taxpayer-funded =
> public schools teach students to treat each other as individuals, and =
> not on the basis of the race they happen to have been born into," Horne =
> wrote.
> 
> The language in "Huck" was, is, and will always be offensive and =
> uncomfortable;  it should be; it must be,until we "get it."   Just my =
> thoughts. =20
> 
> Jocelyn
> 
> On Jan 4, 2011, at 2:38 PM, Lawrence Howe wrote:
> 
> > I'm wondering if Alan is on-list and would like to clarify anything. =
> =3DA0I'm=3D
> > particularly curious about how he handles the scene in which pap rails =
> abo=3D
> > ut the educated 'nigger' that inspires his wrath against the gov'ment. =
> =3DA0T=3D
> > his particular black man is not a slave, but free. =3DA0So what word =
> does thi=3D
> > s new text use to describe him?
> > Thanks for calling this to our attention, Michael. =3DA0The responses =
> on the =3D
> > original posting were illuminating. =3DA0I'm heartened to see so many =
> people =3D
> > take words, and even this one word, so seriously.=3DA0
> > --LH
> >=20
> > --- On Tue, 1/4/11, Mark Woodhouse <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >=20
> > From: Mark Woodhouse <[log in to unmask]>
> > Subject: Re: a new Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Date: Tuesday, January 4, 2011, 1:05 PM
> >=20
> > Good lord.
> >=20
> > I didn't know Alan was doing this but I guess it doesn't surprise me. =
> It
> > generates a lot of talk though doesn't it? Seems like it would make a =
> good
> > classroom discussion.
> > (Although, I tried to get my CORE class to discuss the violence over =
> the
> > Danish cartoons of Muhammed and I got a lot of shrugging - like, =
> what's the
> > big deal? So maybe I'm not a judge of what makes for a good classroom
> > discussion. It seemed like Worlds Colliding to me.)
> >=20
> > I tried to look at all the comments to see if we knew anyone but I ran =
> out
> > of steam.
> >=20
> > On purely aesthetic grounds the thought of this sort of thing makes me
> > cringe. I can hear the dialogue in my head and I know I'd be mumbling =
> and
> > swearing to myself as I went along, mentally re-inserting the =
> original.
> >=20
> >=20
> >=20
> > On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 1:28 PM, Michael Kiskis <[log in to unmask]> =
> wrote:
> >=20
> >> A former student sent me this link to a story about a new edition of =
> Huck
> >> --
> >> to be edited by Alan Gribben.=3DA0 If you read the story, scroll down =
> to re=3D
> > ad
> >> the variety of comments.
> >>=20
> >>=20
> >> =
> http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/01/03/huckleberry-finn-n-word-censor-edit/?=3D=
> 
> > hpt=3D3DT2
> >>=20
> >> --
> >> Michael J. Kiskis
> >> Leonard Tydings Grant Professor of American Literature
> >> Elmira College
> >> One Park Place
> >> Elmira, NY=3DA0 14901
> >>=20
> >=20
> >=20
> >=20
> > --=3D20
> > Mark Woodhouse
> > Head of Technical Services
> > College and Mark Twain Archivist
> > Elmira College
> > One Park Place
> > Elmira NY 14901
> > 607 735 1869