Spiked
•56% Informative
Universities have slapped trigger warnings’ on everything from children’s books to entire fields of law.
They have warned archaeology students about bones, theology students about the crucifixion and forensic-science students about dead bodies.
Now, The Canterbury Tales can be added to this list of shame.
It features cannibalism, poisoning, hanging, beheading, suicide and children starving to death.
Trigger warnings have always been a terrible idea. They infantilise students and serve as a precursor to censorship.
Their use today reveals the politicisation of higher education and the expectation that students will practise not academic criticism, but moral conformity.
It’s high time they were extinguished once and for all..
VR Score
44
Informative language
37
Neutral language
33
Article tone
informal
Language
English
Language complexity
47
Offensive language
offensive
Hate speech
not hateful
Attention-grabbing headline
detected
Known propaganda techniques
detected
Time-value
medium-lived
External references
14
Source diversity
10
Affiliate links
no affiliate links