The Mary Junck Research Colloquium Series Spring 2008
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School of Journalism and Mass Communication University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Dr. John Semonche
Professor Department of History UNC-Chapel Hill
Feb. 28	Researching Censorship: Censoring Sex: A Historical Journey Through American Media as a Model
	In this talk, Dr. Semonche will weigh the pros and cons of viewing his recent book as a model for research in the area of censorship. A brief synopsis of the book’s contents follows. In Censoring Sex: A Historical Journey Through American Media, Semonche surveys censorship for reasons of sex primarily from the nineteenth century up to the present. He covers the various forms of American media—-books and periodicals, pictorial art, motion pictures, music and dance, and radio, television, and the Internet. The tale is varied and interesting, replete with a stock of colorful characters such as Anthony Comstock, Mae West, Theordore Dreiser, Marcel Duchamp, Opie and Anthony, Judy Blume, Jerry Falwell, Alfred Kinsey, Hugh Hefner, and the Guerilla Girls. Covering the history of censorship of sexual ideas and images is one way of telling the tale of modern America. For each mode of media, Semonche explains via abundant examples how and why censorship took place in America. He also traces the story of how the cultural territory contested by those advocating and opposing censorship has diminished over the course of the last two centuries. Yet, he argues, that the censorship of sexual materials that continues in the United States poses a challenge to the free speech that is part of the foundation upon which the nation is built. Indeed, in an era in which sexual images are pervasive and the need for reliable information about sex and sexuality is growing, Semonche questions the remaining rationales for censorship and the justification for placing obscenity outside the protection of the U. S. Constitution.
If you would like additional details/information about the colloquium series, or have any suggestions, please contact Sriram "Sri" Kalyanaraman E-mail: sri@unc.edu Phone: 919-843-5858