Dangerous ideas : a brief history of censorship in the West, from the ancients to fake news

A fascinating examination of how restricting speech has continuously shaped our culture, and how censorship is used as a tool to prop up authorities and maintain class and gender disparities Through compelling narrative, historian Eric Berkowitz reveals how drastically censorship has shaped our modern society. More than just a history of censorship, Dangerous Ideas illuminates the power of restricting speech; how it has defined states, ideas, and culture; and (despite how each of us would like to believe otherwise) how it is something we all participate in. This engaging cultural history of censorship and thought suppression throughout the ages takes readers from the first Chinese emperor's wholesale elimination of books, to Henry VIII's decree of death for anyone who "imagined" his demise, and on to the attack on Charlie Hebdo and the volatile politics surrounding censorship of social media. Highlighting the base impulses driving many famous acts of suppression, Berkowitz demonstrates the fragility of power and how every individual can act as both the suppressor and the suppressed. A fascinating examination of how restricting speech has continuously shaped our culture, and and how - regardless of political leanings - every individual can act as both the suppressors and the suppressed. Through compelling narrative, historian Eric Berkowitz uses stories of the past to reveal the dangers of erasing history and how censorship has shaped our modern society. More than just a history of censorship, Dangerous Ideas illuminates the power of censorship, how it has shaped states, ideas, and culture, and it's something we all participate in. This engaging cultural history of censorship and thought suppression throughout the ages takes readers from the first Chinese emperor's wholesale elimination of books to the Vatican's suppression of pornography from its own collection, to Henry VIII's decree of death for anyone who "imagined" his demise, and on to the attack on Charlie Hebdo and the troll armies that swarm critics of the Trump administration. Highlighting the base impulses from many famous acts of suppression, scholar Eric Berkowitz demonstrates the fragility of power and how censorship is used as a tool to maintain the class and gender disparities of the status quo. -- Provided by publisher Helping God along : speech suppression in the ancient world -- The fire cure : censorship from late antiquity to Gutenberg -- The printquakes of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries -- Revolution, control, and frock coats in the eighteenth century -- Class warfare in the nineteenth century -- Trouble in mind : the early twentieth century -- Screaming at the crowd in the contemporary era **A fascinating examination of how restricting speech has continuously shaped our culture, and how censorship is used as a tool to prop up authorities and maintain class and gender disparities**__Dangerous Ideas____Charlie Hebdo__ "An examination of how restricting speech has continuously shaped western culture, and how censorship is used as a tool to prop up authorities and maintain class and gender disparities" -- Provided by the publisher