A trigger warning issued by the University of Exeter for students studying Greek mythology has sparked controversy. According to a report in the Daily Mail, critics, including former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have called the move “absurd. “
The warning advises students in the “Women in Homer” module that they may encounter “uncomfortable and challenging” material, particularly concerning infant mortality, rape, and sexual violence in texts like the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Students are encouraged to seek support from university wellbeing services if needed. Johnson criticized the warning, questioning whether students are now considered too “feeble-minded” to engage with classic literature.
Other academics have argued that universities should prepare students for challenging content rather than shield them from it. The Daily Mail reports that the university defends the warnings to prevent unnecessary distress.
‘Are they really the most quivering and pathetic students in 28 centuries of Homeric studies?’
The Homeric epics are the foundation of Western literature and comprise a spectacular education in the meaning of life and death.
They have been loved and studied by young people for thousands of years – and never once has there been a suggestion that they might be in some way psychologically damaging to the reader.
Exeter University should withdraw its absurd warnings.
Are they really saying that their students are so wet, so feeble-minded and so generally namby-pamby that they can’t enjoy Homer?
Is the faculty of Exeter University really saying that its students are the most quivering and pathetic in the entire 28 centuries of Homeric studies?
If so, shame on these academics because I bet the students think it’s as bonkers as I do.
– Boris Johnson (who read classics at Balliol College, Oxford 1983-87)
