For the past few years, there has been a sustained discussion of the appropriateness of trigger warnings. Trigger warnings and their related phenomena, content warnings, are intended to alert readers that posts might "trigger" strong responses in those who had previously experienced trauma. Over time this convention moved from online to offline when, for example, professors at institutions of higher education began reporting that students were requesting trigger warnings before engaging with certain types of material in courses. As they are somewhat poorly understood method of communication, it is not surprising that trigger warnings are quite controversial. This talk will provide an overview of the multiple histories of trigger warnings and context for understanding how and why trigger warnings are used.
Dr. Emily Knox is an assistant professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She recently edited Trigger Warnings: History, Theory Context, published by Rowman & Littlefield. Emily serves on the boards of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Freedom to Read Foundation and the National Coalition Against Censorship. Her research interests include information access, intellectual freedom and censorship, information ethics, information policy, and the intersection of print culture and reading practices. She is also a member of the Mapping Information Access research team. Emily received her Ph.D. from the doctoral program at the Rutgers University School of Communication & Information. Her masterâÂ�Â�s in library and information science is from the iSchool at Illinois. She also holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from Smith College and an A.M. in the same field from The University of Chicago Divinity School.
The event will be held on February 23rd from 1:30pm-3:00pm at the Women's Center loctaed in the Student Union.
For more information, contact: Women's Center at 860-486-4738