'Banned Books: To Read, or Not To Read'

The Lisska Center presents “Banned Books: To Read, or Not To Read” featuring Alyssa Chrisman, Linda Krumholz, and Lisa Morrison and moderated by Diana Mafe.

Books are powerful cultural artifacts that shape individuals, communities, and cultures. Whether fiction or nonfiction, religious text or graphic novel, a book can change minds, hearts, and lives. Perhaps for that reason, books across time and place have also been challenged, censored, and banned. What does book banning mean in present-day America? What books have been banned? And what are some reasons for keeping a book on or off the shelves? Join us for a roundtable discussion with three expert colleagues followed by audience Q&A. 

Alyssa Chrisman is an Instructional Design Senior Specialist with the Unite To Read Project at the Ohio State University. She taught in Educational Studies and Queer Studies at Denison University from 2021-2025. Her areas of research interest include the depiction of mental illness and wellness in literature for children and young adults, as well as the censorship of LGBTQ+ texts. Before becoming a professor, she taught middle and high school English Language Arts in Memphis, TN. 

Linda Krumholz is professor emerita of English and Black Studies at Denison University. Her research focuses on novels by contemporary African American and Native American authors such as Toni Morrison, Leslie Marmon Silko, Louise Erdrich, and Paule Marshall. In her recent work, she also considers how teaching can transform U.S. discourses and contemporary conversations about race. Her essays have appeared in Ariel, Contemporary Literature, African American Review, Modern Fiction Studies, and various anthologies. 

Lisa Morrison is the Social Sciences Liaison Librarian at Denison University. Before she earned her Master of Science in Library and Information Science, she spent over 8 years teaching English and information literacy abroad. She facilitates the Eugenic Ghosts Project, a cross-campus collaboration of students and faculty who are building a research collection and repository around eugenic histories.