My girlfriend is an English major, and a fair few of the works she's had to study have had very explicit material. She's in France at the moment without any internet, otherwise I'd ask for her to weigh-in on this conversation.

In any case, if Greek/Roman texts aren't part of the English course then my apologies. Change my analogy from 'Sandra the English student' to 'Sandra the Classics student' and the analogy still holds.

In any case the discussion isn't only limited to rape scenes, I have heard this brought up with regards to 'violence' in literature, which brings a whole new dimension of complication. I agree that the professor having to give a warning wouldn't be a big issue, but the problem is that people will then begin to avoid those themes. It would be inevitable that a proportion of students will be graduating who simply don't know about a certain themes/subjects in literature. I'm an engineering student, and I would say it would be similar if an engineering graduate managed to go through their full 4 years of their undergrad without studying any calculus. There are gaps in their knowledge that put them at a distinct disadvantage.

My argument is that simply by studying a subject in university you are consenting to be taught about certain things. If you don't want to learn about certain topics in English/Engineering/Underwater Basketweaving, surely you wouldn't be there in the first place?