Literature under censorship: a still relevant topic in Brazilian academic debate

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to identify and analyze the profile of thesis and dissertation production on censorship of literature in the school environment. To this end, an integrative literature review was used as the methodology, following a search protocol in the CAPES Theses and Dissertations Bank. For data collection, dissertations and theses published between 2015 and 2025 were selected. After screening and applying exclusion criteria, the final analysis corpus consisted of three academic productions. This reduced number, a direct result of the rigorous search protocol, is interpreted as an indication of the nascent stage of the topic at the graduate level, which justifies the present in-depth and exploratory analysis. The findings indicate that recent scientific production distinguishes censorship from other forms of regulation and confirms that the phenomenon transcends mere legal restriction, manifesting through discursive and ideological mechanisms of social control over the curriculum. The research converges in demonstrating that censorship weakens the main objective of literary education, compromising the formation of the critical reader and the debate of ideas in the school. The analysis of the texts selected for this integrative review indicates that the teacher's performance, combined with their autonomy and continuous training, constitutes the main front of resistance to the curtailment of textual diversity. It is concluded that literature under surveillance is a symptom of contemporary political and ideological tensions that permeate the Brazilian educational space, making the defense of the integrity of humanistic education fundamental.