Describes a project that involved an eighth-grade advanced English class in learning about banned books and censorship with the hope that students would learn enough about a highly controversial subject to be able to form intelligent options. (EL)

This book finds that although censorship of children's literature is currently more prevalent than ever, protest tactics have changed--in the 1990s the censors are more organized and while sexuality is still a concern, books are now attacked for being "Satanic,""anti-family," and "un-Christian." The book interviews…

Outlines the efforts of the Historical Advisory Committee (a group of archival scholars within the State Department) to force the release of documents revealing overseas covert intelligence operations in the 1950s. Recent legislation has reformed moderately the declassification process. Scholars continue to press for further reforms. (MJP)

Reviews the background and consequences of the most violent and effective textbook confrontations in U.S. history, summarizing the objectives of religious fundamentals to a K-12 language arts curriculum. Decries the individual and societal operation of agnosis (not wanting to know). Condemns the publishing industry for self-censorship based on…

Argues that inconsistency in addressing issues of students' rights is widespread, even in Supreme Court decisions. Proposes that the rebuttable presumption of adolescent maturity is justified by psychological evidence. Extends the analysis to considerations of intellectual freedom in public secondary schools, governmental constraints on…

Observes that, while indecent materials constitute a small percent of the materials on the World Wide Web, they have received much attention because they are easy to search out or stumble upon. Discusses legal issues surrounding the Communications Decency Act and other pending legislation for regulating the Internet. (DSK)

Examines the pitfalls and obstacles of applying a professional historian's standards to the practice of writing and researching local history. These include unreliable and incomplete records as well as sponsoring agencies that prefer sanitized legends to historical accuracy. Nonetheless, praises local history as a rich resource and recommends…

This article describes a language simulation involving six distinct phases: an in-class quick response, a card game, individual research, a classroom debate, a debriefing session, and an argumentative essay. An analysis of student artifacts--quick-response writings and final essays, respectively, both addressing the definition of liberty in a…

When Robert W. Van Kirk released a study in January about selenium contamination in trout streams in southeastern Idaho, he expected some flak from the influential phosphate-mining industry. He did not expect to feel pressured by the administration of his own institution, Idaho State University, where he is an associate professor of mathematics.…

This essay suggests that freedom and democracy will not be sustainable unless all participant groups (citizens, judges, legislators/executives): (1) have the knowledge and motivation necessary to promote ongoing progress; and (2) possess the integrity necessary to inspire public confidence. A case could be made that each of these participant…

When surveys of faculty tell everyone that politically right-of-center voices are now much reduced or even in certain areas largely absent, people can be sure that the academy is damaged in at least one respect: the campus political and social climate will be unrealistic. Programs where this is central, such as political science and sociology,…

A lot of people probably believe that a liberal education is a broad education that exposes students to a variety of academic disciplines. This once translated, in many universities, to a "General Studies" core requirement consisting mostly of introductory courses to various disciplines that were loosely related to one another around general…

Children in middle class Australia, and many western countries around the world experience restricted opportunities to engage in free play in their neighbourhood streets and parks. The impact of this has been a drastic decrease in children's independent mobility and environmental play. Recent research has focused on the physical environment of…

The Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, Robert Birgeneau, told "Time" magazine recently that America is in "an economic war" with the world and "the importance of investing in long-term research for winning that war hasn't been understood". This article argues that such comments are not just…

Many students occupy a minimal space between the profession of composition studies and larger social and institutional constructions of composition, writing, and literacy. For most people outside the field, writing is viewed as a set of skills, rather than a substantive area of study. If students would only learn the rules--and if composition…