Dangerous Ideas: A Brief History of Censorship in the West, from the Ancients to Fake News

The desire to censor is as old as the desire to speak, and Eric Berkowitz explores why and how humanity has sought to silence itself throughout history. He highlights how censorship has been used to reinforce class, race, and gender privilege and to guard against offense, from the absurd to the claims by American slave owners. Dangerous Ideas exposes the dangers of erasing history and the forms of censorship taking place today.

Format: Hardback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 29 June 2021
Publisher: The Westbourne Press

The desire to censor is as ancient as the desire to speak. From the first Chinese emperor's wholesale elimination of books to the Vatican's suppression of pornography from its own collection, and on to the attack on Charlie Hebdo and the advent of Internet troll armies, words, images, and ideas have always been hunted down by those trying to suppress them. In this compelling account, Eric Berkowitz reveals why and how humanity has, from the beginning, sought to silence itself. Ranging from the absurd, such as Henry VIII's decree of death for anyone who imagined his demise, to claims by American slave owners that abolitionist literature should be suppressed because it hurt their feelings, Berkowitz takes the reader on an unruly ride through history, highlighting the use of censorship to reinforce class, race, and gender privilege and guard against offense. Elucidating phrases like "fake news" and "hate speech," Dangerous Ideas exposes the dangers of erasing history, how censorship has shaped our modern society, and what forms it is taking today—and to what disturbing effects.

Weight: 628g
Dimension: 162 x 242 x 35 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781908906427