Book banning is at an all-time high in the U.S. In the 2019-2020 school year, PEN America recorded 377 successfully banned books in schools. In the 2023-2024 school year, the number was 10,046. What’s so scary about books? How does the book-banning process even work? What is gained or lost when we ban books? Books get banned, censored, and challenged based on a variety of factors: maybe they contain “dirty” words, sexual content, witches and wizards, representations of marginalized groups, and explicit or implicit political messages. More and more individuals, parents, lawmakers, officials, and organizations are making it their mission to ban books in the US. In this class, we will learn why and how book challenges and book banning are happening and why learning about book banning is essential to being an engaged citizen, returning often throughout the course to the question, what is at stake when books are banned? Please note: Students in this class will read and discuss banned books that may include sex, violence, taboo language, and provocative ideas about family, religion, politics, and other relevant topics related to censorship and academic freedom.