Another college has put set off warnings on its English literature course, warning college students of distressing themes in basic textual content Beowulf.
The University of Aberdeen has put greater than 30 warnings on one literature module known as ‘Lost Gods and Hidden Monsters of the Celtic and Germanic Middle Ages’.
The studying on the course are drawn from Gaelic and Norse-Icelandic sagas, poetry and mythography and explores a “wide range of uncanny or supernatural beings,” based on the module description.
The University of Aberdeen has put greater than 30 warnings on one literature module
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A normal warning for the entire module states: “Texts studied on this course contain representations of violence, coercion, animal cruelty or animal death, incest suicide, explicit sexual content [and] ableism.”
The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf is veiled with much more set off warnings concerning the poem’s violent themes, and the college even warns college students that they may examine monsters.
A cautionary observe concerning the 3000-line poem says there shall be “particularly graphic representations of violence” in Beowulf, in addition to “blasphemy, defecation, psychological violence, pain, alcohol abuse, symbols of evil, black magic, death, blood and eating disorders”.
Beowulf is a narrative of a Scandinavian hero who defeats a monster, Grendel, who’s decribed within the textual content as “unhælu” which additionally means infirm.
But it has been argued by some students that that is ableism.
For at the very least 5 years, UK universities have been more and more introducing “trigger warnings” to present college students discover of any doubtlessly “upsetting” materials in lectures, echoing a development in US schools to attempt to shield younger folks’s psychological well being.
The University of Aberdeen’s coverage, as reported by The Telegraph states: “It is important that the education we provide exposes students to contentious and challenging material, and that we espouse the right of individuals to speak freely within legal boundaries.
“At the same time, the mental health and well-being of students is a primary concern of the school.
“In the spirit of inclusivity, it is therefore the duty of all teaching staff to ensure that students are aware of course content before they are exposed to it, so that they are prepared for anything they may find distressing.”
