Miller speaks with BDN about content advisories in education
The Bangor Daily News interviewed Jessica Miller, a philosophy professor at the University of Maine, for the article, “Warning: This education might trigger trauma. Are we coddling college students?” A trigger warning or content advisory informs readers who have experienced trauma that content in an article or book may cause them to re-experience that trauma, according to the article. A recent article in The Atlantic magazine argues the use of content advisories “coddles” students by shielding them from ideas and words they may find unpleasant, the article states. Miller said she doesn’t include trigger warnings on her syllabi but does see value in informing students before assigning material they may find difficult. “I teach contemporary moral problems, and in that class we read first-person accounts of abortion, lethal injections, physician-assisted suicide. So I definitely know the class can be challenging for many students, however, I do not use trigger warnings on my syllabi. Informally, I do like to give students a heads-up about what we’re going to be doing, and if that includes really emotionally challenging material, I’ll mention that usually,” she said. Miller said that as a philosopher, she thinks it’s important to engage with material that you might consider challenging or objectionable. “It helps us to understand the perspectives of other people,” she said.