Press Release

University puts trigger warning on Chaucer module for ‘expressions of Christian faith’

Nottingham University has put a ‘trigger warning’ on some of the most famous works in English Literature because they contain ‘expressions of Christian faith.’

A Freedom of Information request made by the Mail on Sunday revealed the warning is placed on a module entitled ‘Chaucer and his Contemporaries.’

It warns of ‘incidences of violence, mental illness and expressions of Christian faith’ in the works of Chaucer and fellow medieval writers William Langland, John Gower, and Thomas Hoccleve.

There have been stories in the media in the past about ‘trigger warnings’ being placed, for example, by Oxford University on Geoffrey Chaucer’s ‘The Canterbury Tales’, but this appears to be the first time that warnings about the Christian faith have been revealed.

The story raises the issues of why ‘trigger warnings’ are needed at all on classic texts and whether there would be similar warnings given by universities for other religious and philosophical beliefs.

Other texts on the University’s module which are covered by the warning include, ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’, a renowned poem full of Christian themes and beliefs such as mercy, forgiveness and escaping sin.

Another author on the reading list, William Langland, writes about ‘rich ecclesiastical politics’ and ‘Christian virtue’ in the classic poem ‘Piers Plowman’. The poem is described by critics as ‘the most searching Christian poem of the Middle Ages in English’ and covers the ‘struggles of Conscience to discern how to go on in his often baffling culture.’

Responding to the story, a university spokesman said it ‘champions diversity’, adding: ‘Even those who are practising Christians will find aspects of the late-medieval worldview… alienating and strange.’

Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, said:

“The Bible is foundational to understanding the history of English literature. Without an understanding of the Christian faith there will be no way for students to access the world of Chaucer and his contemporaries. It’s ludicrous to issue such trigger warnings

“From what point in history are we going to censor literary texts given most are steeped in a Christian worldview?

“Trigger warnings for Christian themes in literature are demeaning to the Christian faith and stifle the academic progress of our students.

“To censor expressions of the Christian faith is to erase our literary heritage. True education engages and fosters understanding, not avoidance.”

“Our universities should allow students who have chosen to study some of the greatest works in English literature, the freedom of academic thought to make up their own minds rather than planting loaded warnings about the Christian faith.”