Trigger WarningsCOE DIVERSITY COMMITTEEWHAT’S TRENDING? PROGRAMMODERATED BY DR. PEGGY DELMAS & DR. BENTERAH C. MORTONOCT. 11, 2016

What is a trigger warning? “alerts professors are expected to issue if something in a

course might cause a strong emotional response” (Lukianoff & Haidt, 2015).

Content that might “trigger” a recurrence of a past trauma.

Originated with websites where the hosts would alert visitors to potentially troubling or graphic content.

Trigger warnings in the news http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/403879/how-america-rea

cted-to-the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/

Trigger warnings in the news

"Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so-called trigger warnings, we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial and we do not condone the creation of intellectual safe spaces where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own.“ – John Ellison, Dean of Students

Trigger warnings in the news

Trigger warnings in the news

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu3cQcA647A

Trigger warnings on social media

The politically correct nature of trigger warnings also mean that they are ‘fodder for jokes.’ (Marcotte, 2013)

Ethical consideration of trigger warnings (Wyatt, 2016)

“Because of the ethical complexity involved with trigger warnings, the robust debate around is deserved.”

“What has been lost in the debate, however, is a sense of reasonableness.” Three considerations:

Content Journalist James Foley instructor intuition follow students’ lead

Context What is the course? Who are the students? What is the structure?

Mutual obligations Student/instructor relationship Role of the university

References & Resources

American Association of University Professors (n.d.). On trigger warnings. Retrieved from https://www.aaup.org/report/trigger-warnings

Flaherty, C. (2016, October 4). Pushing trigger warnings. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/10/04/american-university-student-government-launches-campaign-mandatory-trigger-warnings

Haidt, J., & Lukianoff, G. (2015, September). The coddling of the American mind. Atlantic Monthly. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/

Jaschik, S. (2016, August 25). U Chicago to freshmen: Don’t expect safe spaces. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/08/25/u-chicago-warns-incoming-students-not-expect-safe-spaces-or-trigger-warnings

References & Resources Jaschik, S. (2016, September 14). Chicago professors fire back. Inside

Higher Ed. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/09/14/u-chicago-professors-issue-letter-safe-spaces-and-trigger-warnings

Manne, K. (2015, September 19). Why I use trigger warnings. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.bu.edu/fafc/files/2015/10/Why-I-Use-Trigger-Warnings-The-New-York-Times.pdf

Marcotte, A. (2013, December 30. The year of the trigger warning. Slate Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/12/30/trigger_warnings_from_the_feminist_blogosphere_to_shonda_rhimes_in_2013.html

Trigger warning (n.d.). In Oxforddictionaries.com. Retrieved from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/trigger_warning

Wyatt, W. (2016). The ethics of trigger warnings. Teaching Ethics, 16(1), pp. 17-35. doi: 10.5840/tej201632427