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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nReading University has decided to censor a section of a 118-line, ancient Greek poem that makes reference to domestic violence and the \u201910 types of women\u2019 for fear that it could trigger distress and offence, reports the Daily Mail<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the report, officials at Reeding University cut several lines from the 2,000-year-old \u201cTypes Of Women\u201d poem by Semonides of Amorgos, which is taught to first-year classics students, on the grounds that it could \u2018potentially trigger\u2019 distress even though no students had complained to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The decision sparked backlash amongst some academics fearing a \u2018slippery slope\u2019 towards censorship with some critics such as Jeremy Black, emeritus professor of history at the University of Exeter calling the decision \u201cridiculous\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is beyond naive. It is positively ridiculous and has no place in academia.\u201d said Black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018If we applied this same kind of censorship to the news we would end up with a most limited and ignorant view of the world.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 118-line poem is controversial because of the way women are portrayed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It says Greek god Zeus created ten types of women, each represented by an animal or an element. Nine \u2013 those deriving from the pig, fox, dog, earth, sea, donkey, ferret, mare and monkey \u2013 have negative connotations, with only the female who comes from a bee considered to make a good wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ewen Bowie, an emeritus fellow at Corpus Christi College and Prof Emeritus of Classical Languages and Literature at Oxford University, said ancient works needed to be \u2018understood in context\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018When you start censoring reading lists you are putting your foot on the slippery slope down towards censoring what is being sold in bookshops.\u2019 he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In response to the backlash, the University of Reading, did not acknowledge the removal of the \u2018offending\u2019 reference as a form of censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018The portion of the poem now omitted involved a brief reference to domestic violence. That portion has subsequently been removed because, while the text as a whole is vitriolic, that part seemed unnecessarily unpleasant and (potentially) triggering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A spokesman for the University of Reading said: \u2018We do not censor academic material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Students have access to all texts relevant to their course and are encouraged to read and discuss a wide range of material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Content warnings are used to encourage discussion and study in a way that allows students to be aware of difficult or controversial material before being confronted with it.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0UK University censors Ancient Greek poem in case it offends women and students byAlex Constantine Reading University has decided to censor a section of a 118-line, ancient Greek poem that makes reference to domestic violence and the \u201910 types of … Continue reading