Is it forbidden to prohibit? Vetos to literature in conservative times

Abstract

This paper aims to think about advances and challenges of literary studies at a time when the broad development of the means of production and circulation indicates a long life for literature, but the formative spaces of the reader are restricted by external forces from specialized contexts. How to guarantee the right to read literary texts without social inequalities and without underestimating the reader's ability to build their readings? How to react to a systemic movement of censorship of literary books? How to build a consistent argument in times when the vogue is praise for ignorance? Based on a journey from the concept of representation and its place in human experience, this text analyzes the relationship between literature and reality in its path of resistance to the system of linguistic signs, the social dimension and human limitation in all areas and forms. The prohibition or motion to repudiate certain literary works by public and private institutions constitutes the corpus for the analysis of the censorship modalities that are present in the contemporary world.