ALAS, POOR SNOWFLAKES
Cambridge issues warnings about sex and violence in Shakespeare and Greek tragedy – in case the students get upset
STUDENTS at Cambridge University are being warned that they may have to study books with upsetting content – the plays of William Shakespeare.
Lecturers claim the advice is to protect undergraduates’ mental health, even though several of the Bard’s works are known for their depiction of sex and violence.
The ‘ trigger warnings’ on timetables are to allow students to be prepared to deal with potentially offensive or upsetting content in English lectures.
One lecture, titled Violence, bears a warning because its themes of ‘credulity and sympathy’ include discussion of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, which contains scenes of rape and cannibalism, and of Blasted, a 1995 play by Sarah Kane which features rape and violence.
It is understood the lecture also discusses another Shakespeare play, The Comedy Of Errors, which features slapstick. The warnings, revealed by BBC’s Newsnight, will be seen as another example of university staff pandering to a generation of ‘snowflake students’.
Experts have expressed fears that colleges are protecting young adults so much from the world’s realities that they may be unable to cope when they leave.
Supporters of trigger warnings say they help students who may become upset if a text reminds them of a traumatic experience. But critics warned yesterday that they compromise teaching and could lead to lecturers deciding not to teach challenging content.
One anonymous Cambridge lecturer told the programme: ‘Our duty as educators is to prepare our students for the world, not protect them for three years.’ And Gill Evans, emeritus professor of medieval theology and intellectual history at Cambridge, told the Telegraph that the move will leave academics ‘very annoyed’ and was part of a trend to appease ‘hypersensitive’ young people. ‘You’ve got to learn to be a bit resilient,’ she said.
Dennis Hayes, professor of edu- cation at Derby University, said: ‘Once you get a few trigger warnings, lecturers will stop presenting anything controversial. Gradually, there is no critical discussion.’
One Cambridge lecturer told Newsnight that trigger warnings had been added to the course timetable ‘without any discussion’. Another admitted they ‘selfcensor’, deciding not to teach a particular text in case it causes offence to some students.
David Crilly, artistic director at The Cambridge Shakespeare Festival, said: ‘In Shakespeare, most of the sexual violence is implied rather than overtly stated. If a student of English literature doesn’t know that Titus Andronicus contains scenes of violence, they shouldn’t be on the course.’
Titus Andronicus is one of Shakespeare’s most disturbing plays, featuring 14 deaths, rape, mutilation and cannibalism.
Blasted is so violent that when first staged it made critics feel sick. It features a journalist being raped by a soldier, who then sucks out his eyes and eats them.
The Cambridge English timetable includes a warning for a separate lecture, Inhabiting the body, which discusses the Greek tragedy Hippolytus, by Euripides, set around a false allegation of rape. The lecture also refers to another of Sarah Kane’s plays, Phaedra’s Love, a black comedy featuring graphic sex, rape and castration.
The university said the English faculty does not have a policy on trigger warnings, adding: ‘It has not been discussed by the English faculty’s relevant committees, nor has any decision been taken at the English faculty board.’
It is understood some lecturers indicate that sensitive material will be covered by informing the faculty staff who prepare notes on lectures for students. The university said this was ‘at the lecturer’s own discretion’ and ‘in no way indicative of a faculty-wide policy’.
Trigger warnings grew out of a demand by the student unions to create a ‘safe space’ on campuses where students can study without feeling disturbed. Many believe this has led to censorship, with speakers, newspapers and even fancy dress costumes banned in case they cause offence.
Other universities to issue trigger warnings include Glasgow, where theology students were warned they may see distressing images of the crucifixion of Christ, and Oxford, where law lecturers were reportedly asked to advise students they could leave if they found cases involving violence or death too distressing.
‘You’ve got to learn to be resilient’