Biblioclasm: The Assault on Ideas from Homer to Harry Potter

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Doheny Memorial Library, first-floor Treasure Room
September 26–December 16, 2008

Biblioclasm presents items from the USC Libraries’ special collections that survived hysteria and outrage incited by the ideas they contain. Book burnings in ancient China, Medieval Europe, and Nazi Germany—and acts of censorship in American public schools—are a spectacular reminder of the persistent suppression of ideas. Featuring works by a surprising group of authors, including William Shakespeare and Confucius, the exhibition dramatizes the potential loss to our cultural heritage had they fallen to the ageless urge to censor.