University of Denver Winter 2023

INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM Display shines a light on book banning

something far more troubling. Fasman compares images taken of a 2022 book bonfire in Tennessee to a historical photograph of Nazis burning books in Berlin in 1933. “They look nearly

Book banning is nothing new, but it’s making headlines once again. With that in mind, a display at DU’s Anderson Academic Commons showcases a collection of books notable for being banned repeatedly. These books were curated from the University’s Special Collections and Archives by Madison Sussmann, exhibits librarian and assistant professor. The first known book banning in the U.S. happened in 1637. Centuries later, some books get banned or chal lenged constantly. Think “Huckleberry Finn” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.” As the display makes clear, banning a book may not carry the intended consequence. “What does ‘banned’ mean?” archivist David Fasman asks, noting that bans mostly happen in school libraries and in a small number of states. What’s more, banning a book from one location frequently generates more interest for it in nearby collections. The idea of banning is not limited to books, says Fasman, who taught an enrichment program course at DU in November that explored modern and historical examples of censorship, from Socrates to social media. He is especially troubled by book burning, which he sees as a prelude to The Josef Korbel School of International Studies and the Scrivner Institute of Public Policy convened the first Denver Dialogues event on Oct. 4, bringing together leaders from prominent think tanks for a discussion on the importance of civil discourse, diverse perspectives and the role of disagreement in a healthy democracy. “It’s hard to think of a more important issue in this country and, indeed, around the world, than the deterioration of the civic culture on which democracy depends,” said Fritz Mayer, dean of the Korbel School, as he and Naazneen Barma, director of the Scrivner Institute, kicked off the event. “A fundamental requirement of a democracy is that, while we may disagree vehemently about what is to be done, we accept the legitimacy of those with whom we disagree.” Hundreds of attendees learned about the root causes of the breakdown in civil discourse from four distinguished speakers: DU alumna Condoleezza Rice (BA ’74, PhD ’81, Hon. PhD ’96), former U.S. secretary of state and current director of the Hoover Institution; Robert Doar, president of the American Enterprise Institute; Dan Porterfield, pres ident and CEO of the Aspen Institute; and Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of New America. The panelists traced the problem to people living in “information echo chambers” and sticking to their “affinity groups,” behavior based on the tendency for people to gravitate toward what makes them comfortable and move away from what they fear. “This is one of the things we all have to learn, in our

identical,” he says. “It’s only black and white versus color.” Katherine Crowe, cura tor of Special Collections and Archives, says librarians play a critical role

in allowing ethical access to meaningful content—including books that have been challenged, banned and burned. “Sometimes you have to defend objectionable materials,” she says. “Libraries are not just warehouses for books. We are a place where people meet and, hopefully, create new knowledge and make connections.”

IMPORTANT ISSUES Inaugural Denver Dialogues event models civil discourse

schooling, in our family upbringing: how to deal with our vulnerability in such a way it doesn’t prevent us from engaging with others,” Porterfield told the hundreds of people assembled for the virtual event. To improve civil discourse, Rice said, people must be able to interact with others who think differently and to open their “hearts and minds to others’ points of view.” “And that,” Slaughter added, “means coming at any discourse, or dialogue, or conversation with an open enough mind to think, ‘I’m listening and I’m willing to change my mind.’ Maybe not my core principles, but I’m listening and willing to let you persuade me, and in return, you’re more likely to let me persuade you.” The panelists urged DU community members to see themselves not just as red or blue voters but to think about people as more than their policy stances. Doar complimented the University for holding the event, saying, “I believe part of the problem is on our college campuses … there hasn’t been sufficient viewpoint diversity, and there has been too much shutting down of people who say things that are contrary to the prevailing view.”

To learn more about upcoming events and to view a recording of this event, visit korbel.du.edu/scrivner/ denver-dialogues.

WINTER 2023 • UNIVERSITY of DENVER MAGAZINE | 9