Teaching Novels
An exploration of the innovative methodologies requires an awareness of the goals and objectives of teaching literature in general and the novel in particular, the advantages of teaching novels and teaching methodologies.
It is very difficult to agree on the goals of teaching literary texts. In the past, teaching literature was viewed as a way of making people better human beings and better citizens. The purpose of making English Literature a course of study at University College, London in the 1820’s was to moralise, civilise and humanise. In the US, after the civil war, literature was viewed as a ‘repository of moral and spiritual values’. To Yale’s William Lyon Phelps, at the beginning of the 20th century, ‘teaching was preaching’ about Christian values and moral uplift. Classical and modern literature was regarded as a quasi-religious repository of spiritual guidance. To F.R Leavis ‘the serious study of English literature, the great tradition, was the chief weapon against the corruption and vulgarity of mass urban industrial society’
In 1988 , in Teaching Literature : What is Needed Now , a number of English professors offered conflicting views on literary goals , from Helen Vendler arguing that we should teach students to love what we have loved – meaning works of the imagination – to J Hilles Miller declaring that ‘all reading and teaching of literature is theoretical’ . Neither extreme works as a goal for teaching. What if a teacher happens to love Derrida a lot more than Dickens? And what happens to the pure pleasure of primary reading and the open – ended ness of teaching if theory is the central value?
At some level , whether we believe in pleasure , politics or philosophy as the goal , all of us who teach literature believe that it is important not only in education but in life . Long time teachers of literature have testified to the joy their work has brought to their lives and their faith in its future. Leslie Fielder expresses his belief in
It is very difficult to agree on the goals of teaching literary texts. In the past, teaching literature was viewed as a way of making people better human beings and better citizens. The purpose of making English Literature a course of study at University College, London in the 1820’s was to moralise, civilise and humanise. In the US, after the civil war, literature was viewed as a ‘repository of moral and spiritual values’. To Yale’s William Lyon Phelps, at the beginning of the 20th century, ‘teaching was preaching’ about Christian values and moral uplift. Classical and modern literature was regarded as a quasi-religious repository of spiritual guidance. To F.R Leavis ‘the serious study of English literature, the great tradition, was the chief weapon against the corruption and vulgarity of mass urban industrial society’
In 1988 , in Teaching Literature : What is Needed Now , a number of English professors offered conflicting views on literary goals , from Helen Vendler arguing that we should teach students to love what we have loved – meaning works of the imagination – to J Hilles Miller declaring that ‘all reading and teaching of literature is theoretical’ . Neither extreme works as a goal for teaching. What if a teacher happens to love Derrida a lot more than Dickens? And what happens to the pure pleasure of primary reading and the open – ended ness of teaching if theory is the central value?
At some level , whether we believe in pleasure , politics or philosophy as the goal , all of us who teach literature believe that it is important not only in education but in life . Long time teachers of literature have testified to the joy their work has brought to their lives and their faith in its future. Leslie Fielder expresses his belief in
Bibliography: 1 Harrison Brian , English as a Second and Foreign Language 2 Sood S.C , New Directions in English Language and Literature Teaching in India 3 Showalter Elaine , Teaching Literature 4 www.educationalquestions.com 5 www.midtesol.org