Warning: The Literary Canon Could Make Students Squirm

Jennifer Medina reports at The New York Times on student requests for "trigger warnings".

"Should students about to read The Great Gatsby be forewarned about 'a variety of scenes that reference gory, abusive and misogynistic violence,' as one Rutgers student proposed? Would any book that addresses racism — like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or Things Fall Apart — have to be preceded by a note of caution? Do sexual images from Greek mythology need to come with a viewer-beware label?"