For our COPLACDigital course, Jacob and I created a project contract to guide us in the creation of our website. Although we deviated from the original plan summarized in this document, our website turned out better than I imagined. As I thought of new ideas, I knew being flexible with the plan would yield the best end product.

Mission statement

In this section of the contract we state the intention of our website:

“Our goal is to educate the Southern Ontario and Western New York regions, on the origins of this complaint, as well as situating the incident regarding The Golden Compass within the larger contexts of the long history of censorship.”

SUNY Geneseo 2019 Project Contract

I believe we accomplished this goal. There are numerous pages dedicated to explaining the intricate details of this case including the people involved and the chronology of events. The Halton region is also described in the “Where?” section of the website. We made sure to incorporate our own analyses of the case including if we thought the school board made the correct decision.

Digital tools

Jacob and I incorporated a large number of digital tools into our pages. I created a TimelineJS, made a navigation system using hyperlinked book covers, and embedded both a Google Slides presentation and a song from the film. I also utilized the StoryMapJS I made for class on the “About Lauren” page.

Timeline  

The due dates we scheduled for certain pages did get a little shuffled. Pages were not always worked on in the order listed. I ran into some technical difficulties while at a conference in Florida, thus resulting in a minor delay. Additionally, Geneseo’s wifi did not make using WordPress user friendly; therefore, I had to find a place off campus to work. This restricted the dates and times I was able to edit the website. Despite my inability to access WordPress directly all the time, I did continually work on the website content via Word or Google Docs. I tried to work on a different page every weekend and was pretty successful. In wrapping up the project, I have been to Sweet Arts Bakery everyday this past week. If you are ever in Geneseo, I would highly recommend stopping in and picking up a cinnamon bun. They are huge and delicious! Although the timeline was not followed exactly, we completed all of the pages we set out to do plus several extra.

Division of Labor

The division of labor did get slightly unbalanced at some points during the project, but this was not intentional. I adopted a couple of topics Jacob was originally supposed to address. Jacob and I both selected the pages we wanted to work on and did so independently until the review process. I also added additional pages to my workload as they came to mind.

Here is a list of what I worked on:

1. Website theme and navigation
2. Homepage
3. Book summary and anti-Catholic themes
4. Timeline
5. Primary sources (school board documents)
6. Viewpoints of different groups (school board members, complainant, media, Catholic organizations, and external commenters)
7. Interviews
8. Autobiography

Conclusion

On Saturday, I had a website party with my housemates, Shannon, Grace, and Claire. I provided the pepperoni pizza and they reviewed the website. They gave a lot of good feedback, especially with regard to the summary of the text. They suggested making it shorter and skipping over some of the minor plot details. This should make the story easier to understand, specifically for viewers who have not read the book. Their extra eyes were also helpful for catching spelling errors and cleaning up the pages in general.

I am very pleased with the final version of The Golden Compass website. It conveys the case in an approachable manner and is good for all viewers. I really hope my classmates and professors enjoy reading it. I am looking forward to giving our presentation this afternoon.

My website design skills have improved throughout this course. Considering I have never made a website before, I think this one turned out quite well. I have recently been awarded a Student Ambassadorship from Geneseo to pursue a project of my own design. For this project, I will be making a website. Although I am focusing on a totally different topic (intellectual and developmental disabilities), the skills I learned in this course will definitely be applicable.

Look where are we now! It is crazy to think that just two months ago all my pages were blank. I am very pleased with what Jacob and I have accomplished in such a short time. Our website is undergoing its final revisions, and we will be recording our practice presentation this Thursday.

A last minute 180

After taking a good look at my website, I realized there were certain aspects I was not satisfied with. The appearance in general just looked a little disorganized. With the recent revisions, I not only believe this site is more visually appealing, but also contains much better content.

The homepage gained a short summary of the case. This should help clarify things for the reader, as they will already know the basic premise when they browse the rest of the site. Additionally, the Coggle diagram was replaced with some hyperlinked book covers. The book covers are positioned in the recommended viewing order. This looks much better considering I could not make the Coggle the appropriate size for the page. Also, the header image was changed to a picture of the northern lights (alternative book title) and the yellow font was changed to purple to make it easier to read. The title of the website is officially “A Compass for Censorship.”

The biggest changes were made in the “Who?” section. The content on “The School Board” page was reformatted into a google slides presentation, which was embedded into the page. Quotes were also added. Instead of just listing the articles on “The Media” page, I summarized the ones I believed were the most important. I made sure to include a wide variety of opinions, as to show all sides of the argument. This page is now one of my favorites.

I created a branch off the summary page called “Anti-Catholic Themes.” This page specifically addresses the content of the book that religious individuals were not pleased with. I felt this was necessary since the anti-Catholic sentiment is not obvious to all readers.

The page titled “Lauren’s Analysis” has also been enhanced. In the old version, it seemed like I was jumping to the conclusion DO NOT CENSOR. This was a bit brash on my part. Throughout this course, I have learned that censorship is most certainly not black and white. I believe I did a better job of discussing both sides of the argument, while also showcasing the reasoning behind my conclusion.

Wrapping up

There is still work to be done! I will be editing the “Taboo of Atheism” page today, and trying to clarify the definition I provided. Additionally, I plan on writing a short paragraph exploring the history of atheism, and how it is a somewhat unconventional practice throughout time. In editing this page, I aim to eliminate some of my personal viewpoints in the text.

Lastly, I am not sure how but I would like to improve the quality of my TimelineJS on the “When?” page. I have struggled to find events to incorporate that are not already discussed in detail on other pages. I am going to do some digging right now.

The Anticipation

I am very excited to hear everyone’s thoughts about my website! Hopefully, those who attend our presentation and view our site can learn something new. I am also eager to see my classmate’s finished projects. I cannot wait for next class.

For my final blog post concerning the course readings, I have chosen to discuss two shorter articles. I hope these can help me identify the minuscule touches that will complete my website. Additionally, I want to recognize the importance of digital history, including the websites my classmates and I have created in this course.

In the article titled “Why don’t archivists digitize everything?,” Samantha Thompson gives some reasons why all collections are not available on the internet. For the most part, it seems that many texts are not digitized due to a lack of resources: time, money, large size scanners, digital file maintenance, etc. Thompson is clearly bias, being an archivist defending her position. The majority of the reasons she mentions are funding related, and are not necessarily adequate excuses of why we should not make a piece of information available.

Thompson did offer one valid reason why some documents are not worth digitizing; holding an object or paper document in your hands is an experience in itself, and cannot be replaced by a digital copy. While this is a good point, most average people will not travel to seek out an artifact, so I would contest experiencing only part of a record is better than nothing. One thing I have learned throughout this course, is that viewers are usually willing to read what is in front of them. By creating our project websites about one specific case of censorship, people have access to organized information without having to leave their couch. For most, convenience is key.

In the article titled “Best Practices for Writing History on the Web,” Sean Kheraj offers some valuable tips on web design. While reading this article, I simultaneously reviewed my own website to make sure I took advantage of all the advice he has to offer.

First, Kheraj recommends writing in an accessible manner. In order to accomplish this, I tried to keep my pages short and sweet, and provide answers to questions before the reader has the chance to ask them. For example, I included a paragraph on the definition of dust on the book summary page. Hyperlinks were also suggested, which I incorporate throughout the website, but especially on “The Media” page. This way readers have the option to read more about censorship of The Golden Compass, but are not overwhelmed while scrolling. Third, Kheraj places emphasis on visual history. Although we had a limited set of pictures from the movie, Jacob and I tried to incorporate various interactive diagrams such as the TimelineJS and StorymapJS. Lastly, he mentions adding audio and visual elements into the website. This is one area where I feel my website is a little lacking. Since both interviews occurred via email, there were no clips to upload. However, I did put the movie music on the homepage, just to add another interactive element. Perhaps I will consider adding a short movie clip to the summary page.

Overall, I think my website would live up to Kheraj’s standards. Most importantly, I hope my website answers the viewer’s questions censorship. As the course wraps up, I am eager to hear feedback from my professors and classmates.

Sources Cited:

Thompson, Samantha. “Why don’t archivists digitize everything?” Peel Art Gallery Museum and Archives, 31 May 2017. Web. 14 April. 2019.

Kheraj, Sean. “Best Practices for Writing History on the Web.” Active History, 16 October 2014. Web. 14 April. 2019.

Bumps in the road

Wow, I cannot believe the first drafts of our website are due this week! These past few weeks have been very busy for me, so I have had to push my website to the back burner. I got sick, my grandfather had an extended stay in the hospital, I took two exams, and to top it off my glasses broke. Now, I am writing this blog post from a conference center in Orlando, as I am simultaneously listening to a lecture on experimental biology. Despite all of these bumps in the road, I am confident I will be able to finish by Tuesday and produce a good quality website. 

What’s done? 

The website is looking good! All of the primary source documents and interview pages are finished. Additionally, I made a Coggle diagram for the homepage. I am not entirely sure I will keep it, as the format of the embed is not as visually appealing as I want. I am really looking forward to hearing everyone’s feedback during class! 

What needs work? 

Of course, I will not be able to call the website truly complete until every last word has been checked over. The homepage is subject to change, as is the section titled “The Media.” This page contains news articles and the dates they were published to show how the media circulated information, and may have contributed to the censorship of The Golden Compass. There is a good amount of overlap between this page and the timeline, so I am considering condensing them. Additionally, the timeline needs and update, and perhaps some new pictures. Lastly, I need to finish my summary of the book, which  should be relatively easy to do. 

Evidently, I still have a bit of work to do. It would have been nice to be a little bit ahead of where I am now, but it is difficult to account for unexpected delays. Nevertheless, I want to make sure my website is exactly how I want it to be. I am looking forward to finishing up the last couple of edits, and viewing the completed first draft.

At the beginning of the course, the interview portion of this project was one of my biggest concerns. Not only did I fear not being able to find a professional in a topic area relevant to our case, I also thought people would not be willing to give up their valuable time to answer my questions for nothing in return. To my pleasant surprise, the professors I reached out to were not only willing, but excited, to be involved.

For the first interview I spoke with Dr. Patricia Ard, Professor of Literature at Ramapo College of New Jersey. Right from the start of the interview, Dr. Ard was adamant that censorship of students is wrong. She was particularly supportive of allowing children to read Philip Pullman’s books.

When you have a fabulous writer like Philip Pullman, who creates fantastic fantasies, with children in charge–it’s a crime to try to censor him. His books are gateways to every other kind of book a child will eventually read.

She draws a line in the sand about reading a book by an atheist and becoming an atheist oneself. Clearly, they are not the same. Dr. Ard has a lot more to say about this topic, and also ties in author Judy Blume. Click here to view the interview in its entirety.

For the second interview I spoke with Dr. Aaron Herold, assistant Professor of Political Science at SUNY Geneseo. Although we provided Dr. Herold with a list of questions, he preferred to write a more general statement rather than address each specific one. In his opening statement, Dr. Herold mentions he has minimal prior knowledge of the specific case of censorship we are discussing, which should not retract from his ability to comment on censorship as a professor.

I really liked a lot of Dr. Herold’s comments, but perhaps my favorite was the following:

We generally wouldn’t use the term “censorship” to describe the actions of a parent who won’t allow a ten year old to watch an R rated movie, or to read a disturbing but true book about the Holocaust—any more than we would blame a parent for not feeding steak to a baby. I say this because it’s important to keep in mind that when books are removed from school libraries, those doing the removing generally believe they’re acting in this manner.

This quote puts parents in the limelight, not only for being the gatekeepers, but also as protectors of their babies. Later in the interview, Dr. Herold says that parents have unquestionable rights. Since their intentions are to create healthy adults, then perhaps their judgement is sound after all. Well, I guess that depends on who you ask! Dr. Herold also covers some interesting things about the legality of censorship. Click here to view the interview in its entirety.

Although I was nervous about this segment of the project, I think it will turn out to be one of the most interesting pages on the website. It offers perspectives of censorship from two uniquely qualified individuals. I really wanted some video content, but communicating by email was just more efficient. Overall, the high quality of the answers will prove more important than the medium they are in.

In the article titled “Censorship,” teacher and author Bobbi Swiderek is very upfront about her opinion of censorship in school: it is B-A-D, bad! The article is centered around the premise that parents do have rights regarding what their children should learn, but a major problem ensues when parents try to control the education of other people’s children. This concept has been addressed throughout the course time and time again. Jacob and I even incorporated this topic into our interview questions. It will be very interesting to see what educators think of parental input in the classroom.

Swiderek states that at her school, they appease parents by offering alternative books or providing permission slips. This is an interesting approach, but I wonder how effective it is. The case of censorship of The Golden Compass at Halton Catholic School District would not be remedied so easily. Once there was one complainant, it seems like many school board members themselves also felt uncomfortable with the anti-Catholic text. So many people were involved in the situation that the hype surrounding it grew to attract media attention. As it was, the book was not even a part of the curriculum, but just in the school library and on a recommended reading list. Additionally, the district governs a large number of different schools, so there were more opinionated parents. On the flip side, however, restricting access to the book impacted a huge number of students too. As they say, the squeaky wheel gets the oil, and there were a lot of very noisy ones at Halton.

Children’s author Judy Blume said “censorship grows out of fear.” Evidently, some of the administrators at Halton Catholic School District were very concerned that The Golden Compass would make young students question their faith. In my opinion, the stories in books do not test a person’s faith nearly as much as the real world does. Just because someone reads books containing violence, drugs, or promiscuity, does not mean they do these things. While I do believe reading is a powerful force that can change people, I do not think it should be taken so literally. Fear tends to cloud censors, who should keep this in mind.

Swiderek discusses censorship by omission, in which certain topics are simply left out of the classroom. The reason for this, like all forms of censorship, is because it makes some people uncomfortable. Halton is censoring their students by failing to give them a complete education. Students are probably not educated about the wrongdoings of the Catholic church, or about other religious teachings that may contradict their own. This can be problematic for children; It is of equivalent importance to have your own faith and understand other people’s beliefs.

Swiderek expresses her concern about letting the censors win. Censorship at one school might lead to a ripple effect. Perhaps Swiderek is a fortune teller, because this is exactly what happened after the restriction of The Golden Compass at Halton. However, subsequent challenges were not successful.

Last time I blogged about my definition of censorship, I took a more neutral approach due to sympathizing with parents wanting to protect their small children. Now, I would side against these censors due to the effect banning books has on all the students. Swiderek brings up an incidence where she removed a book from her curriculum because she felt the class was not mature enough to handle the subject matter. While my position has definitely shifted, this makes things even more complicated. I would say censorship in this context might be a positive thing, since the content of the book would cause a distraction to students learning. It is strange to see a person so passionate about preventing censorship, censor herself. All in all, I side with the situations that provide students with the best space to learn and grow, which in some rare cases might involve censorship. It will be interesting to see if my view shifts again throughout this course.

Work cited

Swiderek, Bobbi. “Censorship.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, vol. 39 no. 7, April 1996, pp. 592-594.

When this course first began, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the idea of creating a website. So many questions buzzed around my head: How would I acquire the content for my site? What kind of software do I need to download? How would I be able to finish it in just one semester? To my surprise, this process has been rather smooth sailing. Within the past few weeks, significant progress has been made on the SUNY Geneseo project website. I am excited to share my work with you!

Although incomplete, the website homepage has a fun interactive music clip from The Golden Compass movie soundtrack. After some trial and error in last weeks class, it is finally working. Additionally, the website navigation has been updated. I have designed it around the five W words: who, what, when, where, and why. Underneath these headings, there are dropdown menus with smaller subcategories. I felt this was a good way to keep things organized.

I have dedicated most of my time recently to finishing up the pages about Halton Catholic School Board. I created three additional pages, one for each important document I received: (1) the selection of materials form, (2) the committee report, and (3) the school board minutes. Each page contains a short summary of the document, as well as a PDF file embedded into the page. For the majority of viewers, I anticipate the summary will be sufficient, but perhaps some would like to read the primary sources themselves. By providing both, the audience will get to choose their own learning experience.

My biggest accomplishment this week is that I have completed one interview, and secured two more. Dr. Patricia Ard sent me answers to all my questions via email. I will be analyzing her responses and posting some to my website this week. I also reached out to Dr. David Levy, chair of the philosophy department at Geneseo, to see if he knew anyone who would be of assistance. He recommended I contact Dr. Aaron Herold and Dr. Carlo Filice. Both professors responded promptly to my email, saying that they are willing to help, but unfamiliar with the details of the case. Nevertheless, this is fine considering I will be asking general questions related to censorship. Dr. Herold teaches a class titled “Constitutional Rights and Liberties,” which will likely come into play when discussing censorship. Dr. Filice teaches a class titled “World Religions and Contemporary Issues,” so perhaps he can provide insight on the religious component of censorship. I am currently working on drafting interview questions targeted at their fields of study.

Another focus of mine has been completing the timeline component of our website. Although it just needs the finishing touches, I wish I had more dates specifically related to the case. I have included some dates of important publications in order to paint the full picture of the publicity The Golden Compass received around the time it was censored in Halton. I am looking forward to hearing some feedback on my work in class.

I cannot believe that this course is more than half way over! As they say, time flies by when you’re having fun, or in this case trying to design a detailed website around a censored text. Aren’t they the same thing? Well, at least for me they are!

Interviews have been the most difficult aspect of our research on the censorship of The Golden Compass thus far. Although I have been able to find specific names for many of the people involved in the case, it has been incredibly difficult to find their contact information.

After hours of searching, I found emails for two people directly involved with the case: Scott Millard, the Halton Catholic School Board’s Manager of Library Services, and Father David Wilhelm, a member of the Halton Catholic School Board. Father Wilhelm seconded the motion to approve the committee’s recommendation, which was defeated. Unfortunately, neither have responded to my emails yet.

Thanks to Dr. Hajo, I have been in contact with Dr. Patricia Ard. She is an expert in young adult literature at Ramapo College of New Jersey, and has done pervious research on censorship. Since she does not specifically study the censorship of religious texts, we tried to keep the questions general. We are looking forward to hearing her responses!

Jacob and I have developed the following interview questions for Dr. Ard:

1. Please tell us a little about your academic background and your specific topics of interest as they pertain to young adult literature.  
2. In your opinion, what is the primary reason why young adult literature is challenged?
3. What are some of the common themes across censored texts that you have explored?
4. Under what circumstances do you think censorship is a positive thing for children/young adults?
5. Under what circumstances do you think censorship is a negative thing for children/young adults?
6. How do values regarding censorship tend to be different between different groups, i.e. children/young adults, parents, teachers, and administrators? Is it important, unimportant, or somewhere in the middle?
7. Do you think censorship benefits or hinders the education of young students?
8. Are moral/religious values taught in schools? If so, how? Should moral/religious values be taught in schools, in your opinion?
9. Do school teachers have a right or a duty to teach students things that their parents do not want them to know?
10. What is your personal viewpoint regarding the censorship of The Golden Compass? Why?
11. Do you have any additional comments on the censorship of the The Golden Compass, or censorship in general?

Jacob and I are still looking to secure another interviewee for our project. Jacob has taken a class with a Joshua Reichardt, a political science professor who specializes in Canadian politics. We are hoping he will give us some insight to the Canadian public school system, particularly with regard to Catholic public schools. This week, I will be stoping into the philosophy department office to see if there is anyone there who would be qualified to discuss the religious component of the case. Since Geneseo does not have a religious studies department, I figured this would be the next best thing.

While our first choice interviewees do not seem to be panning out, we do have some very good alternatives. I am just thankful that professors are willing to give up their time to help with this research. Any expert perspective will be a valuable addition to our project.

In preparation for my survey of technology blog post, I began with a simple search of SUNY Geneseo’s website. Unlike some larger schools, Geneseo does not have a computer science or technology department, so I was expecting the website to be lacking in this area; however, I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of useful tools on the CIT web page.

Old friends

When I was browsing the CIT staff page, I came across a familiar face. Last summer, I took an online computer programming course with a technology expert, Dr. Kirk Anne. Dr. Anne’s official title is the Assistant Director and Manager for Systems and Networking: Research Technologist, which is quite a mouthful. He would probably be willing to answer my questions, or refer me to someone who can. It would be great to work with this professor again!

Tools @ Geneseo

While Geneseo does not have a digital humanities lab, there are a couple of computer labs, as well as supplemental devices that can be acquired through CIT. These will be useful when it comes time to record and edit interviews. Right now, Jacob and I are unsure of the format of our interviews since we are waiting on replies.

There are a lot of links on the CIT website, but only a couple apply to this project. I had heard of Lynda.com before, but was unsure of its function. With one search for “WordPress” it provided me with numerous tutorials. Thanks Geneseo for giving students this resource!

Tools, tools, and more tools

In our project contract draft, Jacob and I have a list of the digital tools we are panning on using for both the actual website and for organizing data. By no means is this list comprehensive; if one of us stumbles upon a neat addition to the project we will definitely utilize it. I recently had the idea to have music on the opening page. I am going to start looking for a plugin that can do this.

Google drive is the primary location where we are storing our preliminary research. We have various documents shared with each other: a list of contacts, links to articles, planning pages, etc. Additionally, we are using Coggle to create flow charts. If the need arises, I will take a deeper look at some of the additional digital tools on the COPLAC website.

Jacob and I will be prepared to work with which ever technological medium our interviewees prefer. Jacob is experienced with Audacity, while I have worked with iMovie before. I am confident we will have good, clean interviews to publish on our website.

Two big components of the website are the timeline and the map. I am planning on using TimelineJS to show how the case unfolded. While both StorymapJS and Google Maps are appropriate choices, I am leaning towards Google Maps for formatting reasons. StorymapJS requires a block of text with every point. Additionally, I prefer the 3D visual Google Maps provides. These elements are necessary to provide content and allow viewers to interact with the website.

WordPress is up and running

The SUNY Geneseo project website is officially operational. While there is minimal content, I have selected a theme, imported a cover photo, and divided the website into pages. Since I am inexperienced with WordPress, this took a bit longer than I thought, but I am pleased with the result.

Hello WordPress! It has been a while since I blogged specifically about the censorship of The Golden Compass at Halton Catholic School District. Jacob and I have made tremendous progress over the past few weeks. I am very excited to tell you all about it!

Acquisition of materials

The amount of primary source material on the case is stunning. We have found articles from big name news corporations such as Fox and CBC. Using the databases our research librarian provided us with, we added more sources to our collection. There is plenty of information on the case, but it is extremely time consuming work to dissect all of it. Many of the articles are repetitive, and some even recycle the same quotes. Slowly but surely, I have have been checking off one article at a time. The amount of sources we have can be overwhelming at times, but it is always better to have extra than not enough.

The most important documents in our possession are the school board minutes, the committee report, and the request for consideration forms. I requested these from the Privacy and Records Information Manager, Sandra Vieira. Lucky for us, she responded quickly and was happy to help. I have reached out to Sandra again to request the completed request for consideration form that the complainant filled out. This document will allow Jacob and I to examine the exact wording of the complaint. We are still waiting for a response, but hopefully she will reply soon.

Mapping out the players

My big undertaking this weekend was to create a document of all the people connected to the case. So far, I have complied a list of fourteen names, all of which are somehow related to the censorship of The Golden Compass. The case in Halton started a ripple effect which raised concerns in other areas of Canada. For this reason, I have also been keeping track of people associated with related cases. I think this method of organization will prove very useful when it comes time to build our website.

One of my favorite aspects of this project has been researching the different viewpoints of Halton staff. While some members were adamant about restricting access to The Golden Compass, others were open to letting it remain on the shelves. I found it particularly interesting that two of the student board trustees had opposing viewpoints. Kelly Medeiros advocated that students should be allowed to choose their own reading material. Contrariwise, Teanna Lobo thought the text was inappropriate. Despite being juniors in high school and both attending catholic school, these two students had different ideas on censorship. The more research I do, the more vividly I am able to paint the picture of the board meeting.

Bumps in the road

Although Jacob and I have been extremely lucky thus far, it appears we might have some difficulties finding interviewees. I have spent the weekend scouring the internet for contact information for anyone who was involved in the case. So far, I have only been able to reach out to two individuals: Father David Wilhelm, a member of the school board, and Scott Millard, the manager of library sources. I am anxiously waiting for their responses.

Next on the docket

My goal within the next week or so is to find at least one more contact. I am rigorously searching for the social media of the student board trustees. I believe they would provide a unique lens of the situation. Additionally, I am going to start practicing using the tools for building our website as well as writing our project contract for Wednesday. Be on the lookout for my next update!