Harry Potter books given trigger warning for ‘outdated attitudes’

The University of Glasgow has cautioned students

The University of Glasgow issued this warning to the undergraduates in a module called British Children’s Literature.

This caution is proof of a ‘triggering epidemic’, according to critics, as they lambasted the University.

“Poor, poor students! Exposing themselves at their age to Lewis Carroll and E. Nesbit and all those ghastly outdated stories glorifying public school! How they must suffer! They will need counselling from all the children who have survived these terrible tales and enjoyed them so much”, Novelist Dame Margaret Drabble said.

“In the olden days the British Library used to have a PC shelf mark – Poison Cabinet – for books judged dangerous to readers. It was large cabinet-sized. Nowadays, with the triggering epidemic, the Triggered Lit cabinet would be the size of next-door King’s Cross Station,” professor John Sutherland, emeritus professor of Modern English Literature at University College London added.

On the other hand, a spokesperson for University of Glasgow said: “Content advisories in a university setting help students prepare for critical discussion. Unlike children reading for pleasure, undergraduates analyse these texts in depth, which can highlight outdated attitudes around childhood, race or gender."

“We believe that content advisories have an important role to play in an educational setting, allowing lecturers and students to engage in a positive learning and teaching experience on issues across the whole range of human experience and history," he added.

The reading list, other than Harry Potter, includes Lewis Carroll’s perennial classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, first published in 1865, and Malorie Blackman’s dystopian 2001 novel Noughts & Crosses.

E Nesbit’s 1899 novel The Story of The Treasure Seekers and Enid Blyton’s 1946 First Term at Malory Towers are also included.

The caution issued by the university applies to the module of nine set texts, and the content of any particular novel isn’t highlighted.

Children’s authors, including Blyton, in recent years have been criticised for sexism and racism in their books.

But you might be wondering why is the first of the Harry Potter novels part of the list?

JK Rowling’s book about the famous boy wizard is dark thematically. Harry is living with his abusive aunt and uncle and Petunia Dursley with their bullying son Dudley, when readers first get to know him.

Then, Harry, who is 11 years old in the first book, learns that his parents were murdered by Lord Voldemort, the evil wizard.

In the end, the novel wraps up with his first terrifying encounter with Voldemort.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which was universally acclaimed when it was released, has sold 120 million copies.