GoKawiilA British exam board has removed Orwell's books from its examinations in the name of inclusivity and diversity. But Sisa San Sebastián Hurtig argues such political correctness has the opposite effect. Preventing children from reading Orwell hinders their understanding of political dynamics, particularly the way that class insecurity is driving the rise of the political right
A culture war over the literary canon
From September this year, British exam board Cambridge OCR will be removing Down and Out in Paris and London, the debut novel from George Orwell (1903–1950), from its exam syllabus. The book explores poverty, inequality and social exclusion in the two capitals. Its removal reflects a broader educational trend shaped by identity politics and debates surrounding 'wokeness'. Its removal follows the dropping in 2024 of classic American novels Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird from the GCSE curriculum in Wales, amid concerns about racism.
Replacing Down and Out on the syllabus is a controversial biography of Orwell's first wife Eileen O'Shaughnessy. Inclusion of Anna Funder's book, which focuses on Orwell's alleged misogyny and mistreatment of women, suggests that exam boards are increasingly prioritising works by women, even if they lack the quality of literary classics. Critics call this 'oppression Olympics', the phenonemon in which the author's personal history outweighs their literary significance.
Also this year, a school library in Manchester, UK, reportedly used Al to identify books considered 'inappropriate'. Among almost 200 books it removed was Orwell's dystopian classic 1984.
These developments are not isolated culture-war examples, but reflect an anachronistic reading of literature. Rather than interpreting Orwell within his historical context, librarians are applying contemporary moral and feminist standards to the standards society held almost a century ago.
According to Iain Manfield, head of education at think tank Policy Exchange, the growing emphasis on inclusivity and identity politics has distorted GCSE and A-level content. He argues that purging Orwell's work in pursuit of political correctness risks overlooking the contemporary relevance of his analysis.
Culture trends in critical theory
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Contemporary scholarship argues that preserving white dominance, rather than analysing interstate conflict, has been the foundational purpose of the international relations discipline.
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