Daniel Defoe’s novel “The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe,” lives in the popular imagination as a heroic adventure story; but amid the adventure, the novel presents a worldview that is explicitly racist, imperialist, and hypermasculine. This is true for other items in popular culture like television, movies, and music.

Join the Library Diversity Counsel and the U-M Library DEIA team as we have a structured conversation around Robinson Crusoe and other forms of media that have popular or favorable legacies, but contain problematic messages and content.
For more information and questions, please contact Thomas Dickens, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program Manager at dickenst@umich.edu.