Elizabethtown College Assistant Professor of English Literature, Dr. Patrick Allen and Haley Bateman ’26, a Social Studies Education major with minors in English Literature and Sociology recently collaborated to publish an article on the proliferation of banned books, particularly in the Midwest region of the United States. The pair will also present their work at the Midwest Modern Language Association Conference in Chicago this upcoming November.
The pair was able to connect through Bateman’s English Literature minor. The minor allows students to conduct close literary analysis that relates to their interests while working closely with Etown’s English faculty and staff who specialize in a variety of literary areas.
“My experiences with my English Literature minor and writing this article with Dr. Allen have transformed my goals and expectations for the future,” Bateman said. “While my goal is still to teach classes in social studies, I now understand how to incorporate literature into my classes.”
The article, “’We can’t stop living’: No Love for Queer Memoirs in the Heartland,” was published in the journal Midwestern Miscellany to coincide with Banned Books Week which is celebrated annually in late September or early October. Elizabethtown College Distinguished Professor of English, John Rohrkemper is the editor of the special issue on book banning.
“To have this article published is surreal and it gives me a sense of accomplishment,” Bateman said. “I believe these experiences are incredibly important and showcase the possibilities of taking a chance and getting outside of your comfort zone. This was about the experience and enjoyment of the research.”
Bateman and Allen examined the ways in which author Carmen Maria Machado’s 2019 memoir, “In the Dream House” discusses queer authors’ self-censorship and the further censorship of queer authors through book bans.
The article also attends to questions related to archives, publication, and access, especially for materials that attend to issues related to LGBTQ+ communities, sex, gender, and/or abuse.
“This article showcases the benefit of close work with professors and publication opportunities that come with the study of literature,” Allen said. “Through the article, we are able to call for greater access to books that can serve as lifelines to queer youth who often lack resources that address their lived realities.”
The pair began working together in May 2023 through Allen’s Queer Literature course and submitted a first draft in October 2023.
