User:Coldbrew831/Book censorship in the United States/Bibliography

You will be compiling your bibliography and creating an outline of the changes you will make in this sandbox.

Bibliography

As you gather the sources for your Wikipedia contribution, think about the following:

Is the source from a reliable publication?
- Reliable publications include established newspapers, academic journals and books, textbooks, and other published sources with reputations for accuracy and fact-checking.
- Unreliable sources include blog posts and other self-published works, press releases, and social media posts.
Is the source verifiable?
- In order for a source to be considered verifiable, other editors should be able to consult the source.
Is the source independent of the subject?
- Is the source connected in any way to the subject? This is especially important when writing biographies or about organizations.
- For example, if you were writing a biography, sources like the person's webpage or personal blog would not be considered independent.
Is the source primary or secondary?
- Primary sources include first-hand accounts, autobiographies, and other original content.
- Wikipedia allows limited use of primary sources, but typically only for straightforward, descriptive statements of facts, and only if they are published and verifiable without requiring specialized knowledge.
- Secondary sources should be the main basis for a biography on Wikipedia.
If you're working on a topic related to medicine or psychology, ensure that your sources follow these special guidelines.
If you're creating a new article, consider the following:
- Ensure that your topic meets Wikipedia's notability guidelines.
- In order for a topic to meet the notability requirement, you must be able to identify 2-3 sources that are reliable, verifiable, and independent of the subject you're writing about.
- Finding sufficient sources to establish notability can be especially hard when writing about people or organizations.
- Sources that are not independent of the subject might be useful additions, but don't count towards the notability requirement.
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Bibliography

Edit this section to compile the bibliography for your Wikipedia assignment. Add the name and/or notes about what each source covers, then use the "Cite" button to generate the citation for that source.

Wilson, Tilda (June 2, 2023). "A Utah School District has Removed the Bible from some Schools' Shelves". NPR. Retrieved November 19, 2023.^[1].

This article details a recent and especially notable book banning challenge in which a Utah parent frustrated with other book bans submitted a complaint about Bible in order to make a statement. The complaint was effective and the Bible was removed from shelves for its containing sexual content. This is reflective of more recent resurgence in controversy surrounding book banning in schools. This article will help outline the controversy surrounding religious grounds for banning books in schools in this article using detailed instances of disputes.

Otto, Eric C. (2017). "Evidence for the "Slippery Slope" to Censorship: The Story from Florida and Collier County". Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy (2.3-4): 20–30 – via ProQuest.^[2].

This journal article looks at book banning in Florida through the lens of evolution and its contest to the creationist narrative pushed by Christian groups. It discusses religious contests to certain books in Florida schools. Specifically, Otto talks about a 2017 law (HB 989 Instructional Materials) which allowed any resident to challenge instructional materials, including science textbooks. The issue began with some Florida residents taking issue with these textbooks because they contained no reference to the Biblical explanation for the universe. This article will delve in to religiously-grounded book banning through the lens of creationism and evolution, which is a famously persistent and complex debate when it comes to determining public school curricula.

Price, Richard S. (2022). "Contesting Obscenity: Book Challengers and Criminalizing Literature". Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy. 7 (4): 34–45 – via ProQuest.^[3]

This journal article details several issues of defining and regulating obscenity in children’s literature, specifically in the context of a recent surge in book challenges (specifically, in 2021) by conservative groups. Price outlines the difficulties of defining obscenity and public value/harm; ex: some books are important/valuable even though they contain graphic sexual depictions. This will help to outline religious objections to certain books through the lens of obscenity and sexual content.

(2013-03-26). "Banned & Challenged Classics". Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. Retrieved 2023-11-27^[4]>.

This article offers examples of the most commonly banned and challenged books in America. This includes books banned for a variety of reasons and on a number of grounds. One example beyond Harry Potter of a book banned for religious reasons is Brave New World, which could be worth mentioning in this article given its renown.

"Counts v. Cedarville School District, 295 F. Supp. 2d 996 (W.D. Ark. 2003)". Justia Law. Retrieved 2023-11-27. ^[5]

This article on Justia is the court documentation and decision of an important case involving the removal of Harry Potter books from public school libraries. The removal was based on concerns that they would promote disrespect of authorities and disobedience as well as discussion of witchcraft and the occult. A student (Dakota)’s parents sued on the grounds of it being a First Amendment violation to require parental permission to check out a book. This case is oft-cited when it comes to discussion of book banning in public schools and provides legal and constitutional framework for both religious contests to books and the issue of Harry Potter specifically, which will be useful in editing this article.

DeMitchell, Todd A.; Carney, John J. (2005). "Harry Potter and the Public School Library". Phi Delta Kappan. 87 (2): 159–65 – via ProQuest. ^[6]

This article discusses in detail the issues that some parents/librarians have with the Harry Potter books. It outlines specific fears about Harry Potter promoting witchcraft, the occult, and paganism. It does contain some bias/subjective language, but it not incredibly strong and doesn't detract from its usefulness in obtaining a clear view of the issue. The article includes perspectives and quotes from both sides of the issue. A quote the could be useful in editing the Wikipedia article is from Justice Robert Jackson: “"If we are to eliminate everything that is objectionable to any person or is inconsistent with any of their doctrines, we will leave the public schools in shreds." The article offers addtitional details on constitutional issues/court cases and challenges regarding book banning and Harry Potter. This quote also helps clarify the legal framework of the debate: “In Counts, the court defined the issue in the following manner: "Does a school board's decision - to restrict access to library books to only those with parental permission - infringe upon the First Amendment rights of a student who has such permission?". This article will be very useful in offering both legal and contextual background for editing the Harry Potter and Religious sections of this article.

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Cedarville School Board". the American Booksellers Association. 2003-03-04. Retrieved 2023-11-27. ^[7]

This article is useful because it offers more information on the Counts v. Cedarville case, but using less legal jargon. This will allow me to edit the article in a way that is more accessible to the public. Notably, the article is biased towards the Counts and the "freedom to read". Addtionally, it mentions the involvement of renowned Children's author Judy Blume in advocacy surrounding this case.

Steele, Jennifer Elaine (2020). "A History of Censorship in the United States". Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy. 5 (1) – via ProQuest. ^[8]

This article discusses the origins and reasons of book censorship through a broader lens. It offers qualitative and quantitative details about religious-based censorship, including a breakdown of how much different religions are likely to censor books. It mentions the Harry Potter bans and Cedarville as an example. It also discusses the history of the Roman Catholic Church in relation to censorship and its influence in the United States; for example, Pope Paul IV’s index of forbidden books from 1559. While the article is about all book banning, it contains a section specifically on the censorship of Children’s literature and the freedom of speech in schools.

admin (2013-03-26). "Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009". Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. Retrieved 2023-11-27. ^[9]

This article shows the most banned books in the early 21st century. It says that Harry Potter was the most frequently banned book during this decade.

Allen, Jonathan; Beier, Hannah (2023-06-24). "How Christian groups helped parents pull books from some Pennsylvania school libraries". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-11-27.^[10]

This article is useful because it is a very recent (June 2023) discussion of real-life book banning in public schools on religious grounds. The authors dive into a specific instance in Pennsylvania this past summers of book removals; these books were about LGBTQ idenities and were removed on the basis of containing obscenity/nudity. The article offers a view of both sides of the issue.

Examples:

Luke, Learie. 2007. Identity and secession in the Caribbean: Tobago versus Trinidad, 1889–1980 Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press.
- This is a book published by a university press, so it should be a reliable source. It also covers the topic in some depth, so it's helpful in establishing notability.
Galeano, Gloria; Bernal, Rodrigo (2013-11-08). "Sabinaria , a new genus of palms (Cryosophileae, Coryphoideae, Arecaceae) from the Colombia-Panama border". Phytotaxa.
- This is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, so it should be a reliable source. It covers the topic in some depth, so it's helpful in establishing notability.
Baker, William J.; Dransfield, John (2016). "Beyond Genera Palmarum: progress and prospects in palm systematics". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society.
- This is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, so it should be a reliable source for a specific fact. Since it only dedicates a few sentences to the topic, it can't be used to establish notability.

References

^ Wilson, Tilda (June 2, 2023). "A Utah School District has Removed the Bible from some Schools' Shelves". NPR. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
^ Otto, Eric C. (2017). "Evidence for the "Slippery Slope" to Censorship: The Story from Florida and Collier County". Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy (2.3-4): 20–30 – via ProQuest.
^ Price, Richard S. (2022). "Contesting Obscenity: Book Challengers and Criminalizing Literature". Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy. 7 (4): 34–45 – via ProQuest.
^ admin (2013-03-26). "Banned & Challenged Classics". Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
^ "Counts v. Cedarville School District, 295 F. Supp. 2d 996 (W.D. Ark. 2003)". Justia Law. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
^ DeMitchell, Todd A.; Carney, John J. (2005). "Harry Potter and the Public School Library". Phi Delta Kappan. 87 (2): 159–65 – via ProQuest.
^ "Harry Potter and the Order of the Cedarville School Board". the American Booksellers Association. 2003-03-04. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
^ Steele, Jennifer Elaine (2020). "A History of Censorship in the United States". Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy. 5 (1) – via ProQuest.
^ admin (2013-03-26). "Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009". Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
^ Allen, Jonathan; Beier, Hannah (2023-06-24). "How Christian groups helped parents pull books from some Pennsylvania school libraries". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-11-27.

Outline of proposed changes

Over the coming weeks, I plan to edit the "Harry Potter" and "Religious" sections of this article.
As it stands, the section of the article detailing religiously-based book bans is significantly lacking in the detail that other sections have. I plan to mention religious objections to public schools through the lens of the First Amendment and delve into religious objections based on witchcraft, science/evolution, and obscenity. These changes will bring the article to the same level of detail and nuance as other sections of the article. While there is already a section on book banning based on sexual content, my edits will incorporate more information on how religious groups see books containing sexual or "obscene" content as worthy of banning and the challenges to these attempts (Allen, Reuters)). I will talk more about the recent surge in book challenges in the United States, and discuss how challenges to the Bible highlight existing polarization with regards to this issue (Wilson). Additionally, I will provide context to the relationship of the First Amendment to book bans in public schools, citing, for example, the Cedarville case (Justia).
The Harry Potter section will branch off of the earlier discussion of how religious leaders and parents object to mentions of witchcraft and the occult. I will offer more detailled summaries of these objections and use additional examples of challenges to Harry Potter. I will also talk about the aspects of the Cedarville case that relate most specifically to the content in Harry Potter (Justia).
I also plan to fix some issues with misreferenced citations in these sections.

Now that you have compiled a bibliography, it's time to plan out how you'll improve your assigned article.

In this section, write up a concise outline of how the sources you've identified will add relevant information to your chosen article. Be sure to discuss what content gap your additions tackle and how these additions will improve the article's quality.

Consider other changes you'll make to the article, including possible deletions of irrelevant, outdated, or incorrect information, restructuring of the article to improve its readability or any other change you plan on making. This is your chance to really think about how your proposed additions will improve your chosen article and to vet your sources even further.

Note: This is not a draft. This is an outline/plan where you can think about how the sources you've identified will fill in a content gap.

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[1] Wilson, Tilda (June 2, 2023). "A Utah School District has Removed the Bible from some Schools' Shelves". NPR. Retrieved November 19, 2023.

[2] Otto, Eric C. (2017). "Evidence for the "Slippery Slope" to Censorship: The Story from Florida and Collier County". Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy (2.3-4): 20–30 – via ProQuest.

[3] Price, Richard S. (2022). "Contesting Obscenity: Book Challengers and Criminalizing Literature". Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy. 7 (4): 34–45 – via ProQuest.

[4] (2013-03-26). "Banned & Challenged Classics". Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. Retrieved 2023-11-27.

[5] "Counts v. Cedarville School District, 295 F. Supp. 2d 996 (W.D. Ark. 2003)". Justia Law. Retrieved 2023-11-27.

[6] DeMitchell, Todd A.; Carney, John J. (2005). "Harry Potter and the Public School Library". Phi Delta Kappan. 87 (2): 159–65 – via ProQuest.

[7] "Harry Potter and the Order of the Cedarville School Board". the American Booksellers Association. 2003-03-04. Retrieved 2023-11-27.

[8] Steele, Jennifer Elaine (2020). "A History of Censorship in the United States". Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy. 5 (1) – via ProQuest.

[9] (2013-03-26). "Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009". Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. Retrieved 2023-11-27.

[10] Allen, Jonathan; Beier, Hannah (2023-06-24). "How Christian groups helped parents pull books from some Pennsylvania school libraries". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-11-27.

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