Woke university bosses slap trigger warnings on Rabbie Burns’ work
WOKE university bosses have slapped trigger warnings on Rabbie Burns’ work.
Students at Glasgow University are warned they could be offended or traumatised by sexual themes that run through the Bard’s poems.
The alert is plastered on content for a module titled Robert Burns Online.
University staff “issue content advice where it seems applicable to difficult circumstances that might affect students”, according to details revealed in a freedom of information response.
This includes literature that addresses “physical or sexual abuse” and “explicit material”.
But last night a spokesman for social policy charity CARE for Scotland said it “points to an increasingly censorious, hyper-sensitive atmosphere on university campuses”.
They added: “Higher education should involve students engaging with ideas and literature that are out-of-step with modern attitudes – and even material that may objectively be considered offensive.
“Whilst some very graphic materials may merit a caution, wrapping students up in cotton wool and teaching them to avoid all potentially ‘triggering’ materials will undermine, not enhance, their education.
“It may also affect their ability to contribute to the often stressful industries they go on to work in.”
And Tory MSP Annie Wells said: “As our national poet, his work should be celebrated, not censored.”
In 2018, poet Liz Lochhead, 76, branded Burns a “sex pest”.
She highlighted a 1788 letter saying he made a “disgraceful boast” of what seemed “very like a rape of his pregnant girlfriend”.
A spokesperson for Glasgow University said: “The University of Glasgow has a duty of care to our students, who come from varied backgrounds and experiences, to ensure that when potentially upsetting content on issues like race and racism, suicide or sexual violence are being taught, read, or discussed that we advise them ahead of lessons to ensure everyone is able to engage in conversations constructively.
“Content advisories are not in any way a form of censorship nor are they an indicator that students are not able to confront difficult materials.
“But we hope they allow students to take control of their own learning and help everyone to feel able to take part fully in discussions around difficult subject matter in as sensitive and respectful way as possible.”