New book alert! UNT Art Education Faculty Uncovers Trouble in Censorville: A Battle for Truth in Public Education
Art Education Faculty Highlight and Congratulations to Professor Kalin!
Publication: "Trouble in Censorville: The Far Right's Assault on Public Education – and the Teachers Who Are Fighting Back" by Disobedience Press, released on July 1, 2024.
Nadine M. Kalin and co-editor Rebekah Modrak have compiled research focusing on 14 public school teachers across the United States. This 296-page book is a collection of oral histories highlighting the personal toll of extremist campaigns against education. According to these teachers, they face threats, stalking, doxing, ostracism, smears, leave placement, and firings for teaching historical truths and advocating for racial justice and LGBTQ+ students. In one instance, people targeted a teacher for wearing "insufficiently" feminine attire. The stories reveal how these attacks affect individuals, leading to social isolation, institutional betrayal, and severe impacts on mental and physical health.
A timeline in the book supports these compelling testimonials, contextualizing today's far-right assault on public education within American history. It spans from Reconstruction through the McCarthy era's anti-left and anti-gay rhetoric to the Black Lives Matter movement and the Trump presidency.
The book is a collaborative effort of the editors with research funding from the Jo Ann (Jody) and Dr. Charles O. Onstead Institute for Education in the Visual Arts and Design, which supports ongoing research and development of cutting-edge K-12 art education programs, initiatives and resources.
Rebekah Modrak is a professor at the Stamps School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan. She is also an artist and writer who analyzes and critiques consumer culture, including the COVID-era privatization of public education, as parents began to refer to teachers as "public servants," subsidized by their tax dollars and therefore answerable to them as consumers.
"Trouble in Censorville" is available for purchase on Disobedience Press, Amazon, and other booksellers; 100% of the profits from this book go to the teachers whose testimonies made "Trouble in Censorville" possible. Purchasing the book directly from the press via Michigan Publishing affords them a higher percentage of the profits.
See more interviews with teachers at the companion website, Trouble in Censorville.
University of Michigan Press Release: Trouble in Censorville | Publisher's Weekly article
Image: Beige book cover with the title and credits in red and blue.
Book cover by Ben Denzer, Instagram: BDenzer, Website: Ben Denzer.
Press Inquiries
Members of the press may contact UNT Media Relations.
- Amanda Lyons, assistant director for UNT Media Relations, 940-565-2943, Amanda.Lyons@unt.edu, and
- Melisa Brown, senior director for university relations, 940-369-7120, Melisa.Brown@unt.edu.
