section_path: Law/Censorship
section_name: Censorship
paragraph_text: Censorship
  
  Censorship of literature is employed by states, religious organizations, educational institutions, etc., to control what can be portrayed, spoken, performed, or written. Generally such bodies attempt to ban works for political reasons, or because they deal with other controversial matters such as race, or sex.
  
  A notable example of censorship is James Joyce 's novel Ulysses, which has been described by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov as a "divine work of art" and the greatest masterpiece of 20th century prose. It was banned in the United States from 1921 until 1933 on the grounds of obscenity. Nowadays it is a central literary text in English literature courses, throughout the world.