Banned Books Unbound!

In COM354 - Critical Media Making, undergraduate students build speculative media objects as a way to challenge normative frameworks, imagine equitable realities, and exercise critique. Throughout the semester, students engaged with various media-making exercises as a strategy to produce critiques of relevant social issues. One of these exercises invited them to design dust jackets for books that have either been challenged or banned. Students were required to research the arguments used by the entities that challenged the titles and unpack the underlying political and moral justifications that motivated them. They examined the narratives as well as the historical, social, and cultural context of banned books. The dust jackets showcased in this exhibit demonstrate the results of their investigation and materialize a visual critique of the reasons that motivated each book to be barred from circulation.