I was reading in the US version of The Conversation, an excellent online publication, that there are moves afoot amongst some academics and at some universities to 'cancel' Geoffrey Chaucer. By this I mean, the removal of Chaucer's fiction, most notably, The Canterbury Tales, from the modern curriculum.

His crimes apparently include sexism, racism, antisemitism, to name but a few. These offences take place within a fictional work and come from the mouths of fictional characters - those who are wending their way to Canterbury on pilgrimage. That in itself should be a sufficient rebuttal to such a ludicrous charge, but I suspect not. Those who come after Chaucer are probably intent on tearing down any author who is white, male and a part of the literary cannon. They strive for a decolonized curriculum, whatever that is. I suspect, though, that it is another misguided utopian project.

I have said before that overlaying modern ideas and moral standards on a different historical era is foolish. It is foolish and stupid and arrogant. Chaucer wrote in the 14th Century when attitudes and beliefs were entirely different to the present age. Human nature may not change much but what they believed then bears little relationship to what is believed now. This point should also be a sufficient rebuttal but it probably isn't.

When I studied Chaucer in Year 12 and later at university, there was no confusion about this. We could read and enjoy The Canterbury Tales, while at the same time knowing that many of the attitudes and social mores in the work would be completely unacceptable today. There was no problem because there isn't a problem. 

I am saddened that the current crop of undergraduates have to put up with this arse-hattery. What a joy just to read a book because it is a wonderful work of literature!