You’ve undoubtedly heard of the latest liberal buzz phrase on campus: “trigger warnings.”
The idea is that you ought to warn sensitive students that they are about to hear words that could make them uncomfortable in the classroom–words that could “trigger” discomfort.
In this morning’s feature story for The College Fix, Andrew Desiderio reports on the latest expert recommendations on the use of trigger warnings.
At Oberlin College, for instance, professors were warned against the dangers of traumatizing students when discussing topics such as “racism, colonialism, and sexism.”
That probably eliminates a third of the Western literary canon. Uncle Tom’s Cabin – too much racism. Heart of Darkness – too much colonialism. The Scarlet Letter – sexist.
Many leading educators today appear determined to wrap all of today’s college students in a giant snuggly bubble of self-esteem rather than to have them read anything uncomfortable, provocative, or politically incorrect.