Cartoon Conflicts: Contemporary Controversies and Historical Precedents, Richard Scully, Ritu Gairola Khanduri & Paulo Jorge Fernandes (ed.), Palgrave Studies in the History of the Media, 493 p., 2025
This edited collection of new research highlights the way in which the cartoon – long regarded as a staple of journalism and freedom of expression – faces new challenges in the twenty-first century that can be far better understood and appreciated if one takes an historical perspective. Current debates over the limits of freedom of expression, ‘political correctness’, and ‘cancel culture’ all have their precedents in past controversies over cartoons and caricature; indeed there is a definite continuum between these past instances of debate and their present manifestations.