Knox pens chapter on censorship in children’s literature

Emily Knox
Emily Knox, Interim Dean Designate and Professor

A new guide to children's literature includes a chapter on censorship by Emily Knox, associate professor and director of graduate programs. A Companion to Children's Literature, co-edited by Deborah Stevenson, former director of the iSchool's Center for Children's Books and former editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, was recently published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

In the chapter, "Censorship and Children's Literature," Knox examines who censors children's literature and why as well as conceptualizations of the term "innocence" that are employed in the discourse of censorship. She discusses the future of censorship of children's literature and how to protect children's access to works that are intended for them.

Knox's books include Book Banning in 21st Century America; Document Delivery and Interlibrary Loan on a Shoestring; Trigger Warnings: History, Theory, Context; and Foundations of Information Ethics, which she co-edited with John T. F. Burgess. Her upcoming book, Foundations of Intellectual Freedom, will be released by ALA Neal-Schuman in December 2022. Knox received her PhD from the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University and her MS from the iSchool at Illinois.

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

iSchool researchers to present at CHI 2025

iSchool faculty and students will present their research at the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2025), which will be held from April 26 to May 1 in Yokohama, Japan. 

Undergraduate Research Symposium features iSchool students and mentors

Several iSchool undergraduate students will participate in the 18th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. During the event, visitors will learn about undergraduate research projects through oral and poster presentations, creative performances, and art exhibits. All are welcome to attend the symposium, which will be held on April 24 from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. in the Illini Rooms and South Lounge of the Illini Union. Oral presentations will be held on the second floor of the Illini Union.

Wang wins grand prize at Research Live!

Informatics PhD student Olivia Wang won the Grand Prize at the 2025 Research Live! competition, which was held on April 8 in the Campus Instructional Facility Atrium. At the event, which is hosted by the Graduate College, thirteen finalists presented their graduate research in three minutes or less to a general audience. Wang received $500 as the Grand Prize winner.

Olivia Wang

Zhou defends dissertation

Doctoral candidate Kyrie Zhixuan Zhou successfully defended his dissertation, "A Pragmatic and Human-centered Approach to Promoting Software Accessibility: Design, Education, Governance," on April 3.

Zhixuan Zhou

Knox appointed interim dean

Professor Emily Knox has been appointed to serve as interim dean of the School of Information Sciences, pending approval by the Board of Trustees. Until officially approved, her title will be interim dean designate. The appointment will begin April 1, 2025.

Emily Knox