COLOROSO’S PUBLISHER WEIGHS IN

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May 23 2008
Canada

Over the past week, the Toronto District School Board’s decision
to pull Barbara Colorosoââ~B¬â~D¢s Extraordinary Evil from a
Grade 11 course has continued to draw criticism from the literary
community. Yesterday, Coloroso’s publisher ââ~B¬" Penguin Canada
president David Davidar ââ~B¬" joined in the condemnations.

Here is an open letter from Davidar, addressed to the Toronto District
School Board’s director of education Gerry Connelly:

Dear Mr. Connelly,

As the publisher of Barbara Colorosoââ~B¬â~D¢s Extraordinary
Evil: A Brief History of Genocide, we regret the Toronto District
School Boardââ~B¬â~D¢s decision to drop the book from its list of
resources for a Grade 11 course called Genocide and Crimes Against
Humanity. Board documents describe Ms. Coloroso as a ââ~B¬Å"renowned
edu catorââ~B¬Â~] and the bookââ~B¬â~D¢s inclusion in the reading list
in the first place attests to its value as a legitimate contribution to
the study of genocide. Dropping the book from the list is apparently
based on vociferous objections by segments of the Turkish Canadian
population who reject the ââ~B¬Å"genocide&#xC 3;¢â~B¬Â~] designation to
describe the atrocities committed against Armenians in 1915, and who
dispute Ms Colorosoââ~B¬â~D¢s credentials as an historian. In fact, Ms
Coloroso has never claimed to be an historian and in the Introduction
to her book, she emphasizes that she is writing ââ~B¬Å"as an educator,
a parent, and a former nun. All three of these influence and colour
this text.ââ~B¬Â~]

We suggest that the Board follow the philosophy outlined in the April
29th Review Committee Report, which states ââ~B¬Å"Grade 11 students
can appreciate ââ~B¬" and, more importantly, should appreciate ââ~B¬"
that history is a contested area without suggesting that everything
is relative. ââ~B¬Â¦ Genuine historical controversies do belong in
a high school curriculum and can be beneficial in giving students an
in-depth understanding of complex events and in teaching students
critical thinking.ââ~B¬Â~] While we laud the Boardââ~B¬â~D¢s
dec ision to implement such a course, and to continue to include the
Armenian genocide as part of that course, we urge you to reinstate
Ms. Colorosoââ~B¬â~D¢s book onto the course reading list. Many
voices have been recorded on the tragedies of various genocides,
the voices of historians, eyewitnesses, novelists, human rights
groups, social scientists, journalists and even Canadian generals. Ms
Colorosoââ~B¬â~D&#xA2 ;s voice should be among them.

Sincerely,

David Davidar President and Publisher Penguin Group Canada

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