Children's books including Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland have been slapped with "content warnings" by a university for possibly containing "racist" and "white supremacist" material.
York St John University's Rees-Williams Collection of children's books - which date from the late 18th to the early 20th Century - comes with a hefty disclaimer which dwarfs the actual blurb about the collection itself.
The "content warning and position statement" contains a litany of potential pitfalls of which readers should be aware, and warns people - who must specifically make appointments to see the collection - of the potential for upset and offence.
The university devotes a good chunk of the disclaimer to distancing itself from some of the content in the children's literature collection, and signals its commitment to highlighting "the racist marginalisation" in books at the time.
York St John University items consulted from the collection will include language and visual imagery which is racist, and many people may find their contents upsetting and offensive
Getty/Wikimedia Commons
The full content warning reads: "Documents in special collections have contextual history and, as a whole, can inform our understanding of the contexts in which they came to exist.
"Within the 150 years of children's writing which is represented in the collection, there is a widespread occurrence of colonialist narratives which centre white supremacy, and racist and orientalist methods of both fictional and historical storytelling.
"As such, it is possible, if not likely, that items consulted from the collection will include language and visual imagery which is racist, and many people may find their contents upsetting and offensive.
"As custodians of historical documents, it is our duty to recognise their historic and current power in the marginalisation of the peoples who are subjects within them, and examine why we continue to preserve and house such items when their ability to cause damage endures.
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A university spokesperson said the content warning "aligns with our ongoing commitment to challenging racism"
York St John University
"Here at York St John University, we unequivocally reject the stereotypes and offensive narratives which are contained within these documents.
"We are also committed to preserving and providing access to the evidence of the racist marginalisation and stereotyping of peoples through children’s literature during this time period.
"To do so requires continuous learning, reflection and consultation on how such a collection should be managed, and as such we welcome conversation about and research into the collection."
A York St John University spokesperson said: "As custodians of the Rees-Williams Collection, we have a responsibility to both provide access to historic books, and to inform our students and other users about content in our institutional archives and special collections which many would find offensive and outdated.
"This guidance has been in place since 2019 and aligns with our ongoing commitment to challenging racism, as a Race Equality Charter Bronze award holder."
GB News has independently approached the university for comment.