Silencing the Classroom: Curriculum Censorship and Fascism's Rise in Public Education Open Access
Tiaffay, Madison (Spring 2026)
Abstract
In recent years, there has been a surge in censorship laws, book bans, and the demonization of trans students throughout the United States. Though there is nothing new about attacks on education that promote a right-wing agenda, through my research, I have discovered that the ways in which the far-right is attacking education are unprecedented. A central part of my work relies upon my close readings of key Georgia education policy legislation, including HB 1084, Georgia’s divisive concepts ban, SB 226, the basis for Georgia’s book bans, and HB 1178, the Parent’s Bill of Rights. I also conducted in-depth interviews with Georgia teachers, librarians, school board members, a former student, and other actors involved in the fight to protect public education to better understand their experiences and beliefs. I connected key themes I pulled from my interviewees’ testimonies and Georgia’s legislation to the core tenets of fascism proposed by historians Jason Stanley, Timothy Snyder, Henry Giroux, Michel-Rolph Trouillot, and Carol Anderson. I argue that the far-right is waging war on education in three unique ways: first, they are preying upon feelings of white guilt, anxiety, and discomfort to justify both the creation of a mythic past and the politics of disposability. The far-right is also catastrophizing the current state of public education, as they foment fear about curriculum and educators to distort people’s sense of reality. When their reality is undermined, the public begins to feel intense distrust toward institutions they once trusted, like public schools. This paves the way for the far-right to eviscerate social goods as we know it, positing privatization as the solution to failing public schools. The private religious schools that privatization initiatives often fund perpetuate the very inequality, segregation, and indoctrination that fascism thrives off of. This thesis provides new insights into the real impacts that censorship laws have on Georgia students, educators, and society at large, how this is part of a larger fascist scheme to gain power, stamp out dissent, and oppress the “Other,” and what we can do to stop it.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Chapter 2: Guilt, Discomfort, and Disposable Children 14
The Mythic Past 18
The Politics of Disposability 24
Chapter 3: Catastrophizing and Distorting Reality 33
Contradictions 36
Vagueness 42
Demonization of Educators 45
Self-Censorship 50
Chapter 4: Eviscerating Social Goods 55
Chapter 5: Conclusion 60
References 69
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