The original title of my article published in ST last sunday was "The role of Literature for critical values education in the 21st century" but ST changed it to something along the lines of teaching values. I thought I'd say it upfront that I am opposed to the idea of using literature to teach values but what I do argue for is that literature is a powerful platform for the critical engagement of values. I think this becomes apparent if one reads the full article.
What's the difference? Let's start with the notion of values. The term "values" is linked to the idea of “good” as found in valere, its Latin root, referring to the good or worth of something. We can trace this concept further back to Aristotle who argues, in Nicomachean Ethics, that “Every craft and every investigation, and likewise every action and decision, seems to aim at some good; hence the good has been well described as that at which everything aims.” In other words, everything we do is grounded on a concept of value or a belief in the good of something.
For example, a book is written because the writer upholds certain beliefs about value/good of what he is saying; teachers select certain literary texts for study because they believe it is of value or good for some reason. This value can be individualistic (e.g. writing is liberating and pleasurable to oneself), instrumental (e.g. the literary text contributes to a national narrative), or other-oriented i.e. good for someone else (e.g. the writing contributes to fighting social injustice, human rights for particular groups). Of course, these are not discrete categories but may overlap. The point is that underlying everything we do – every action, every word we write, what we choose to teach in the classroom, what we teach etc. – are values or beliefs in the good of something. One can also perform out of a bad intention but that itself is a value or belief in the good of something.
Now when we talk about literature education, I am specifically referring to literature education in the public sphere which I have argued in the article is premised on criticism. Yes, we can talk about experiencing texts and so on but literature teaching and assessment have been historically established on the principles of criticism. For example, at the secondary and JC level, students are initiated into how to perform critical appreciation, practical criticism, informed response to texts etc.
To take the concept of criticism a little further, literature education equips students to critically engage with the kinds of values and belief systems inherent in texts and informing texts. In this way, criticism disrupts any naive notion of a “pure experience” or innocent reading the text. For example, a student may enjoy reading Animal Farm on my own at home but in the classroom, the teacher facilitates conversations and dialogues about the inherent values in the text e.g. the dangers of totalitarianism that Orwell highlights or the socio-political factors that informed the way the text was produced and received etc.
I think that if we want to argue for Literature education’s significance in the curriculum today, we need to return to the idea of how it equips students with the dispositions and capacities to critically engage with values in all kinds of texts. These dispositions and skills are essential as societies become increasing globally connected and hyer-mediated.
What's the difference? Let's start with the notion of values. The term "values" is linked to the idea of “good” as found in valere, its Latin root, referring to the good or worth of something. We can trace this concept further back to Aristotle who argues, in Nicomachean Ethics, that “Every craft and every investigation, and likewise every action and decision, seems to aim at some good; hence the good has been well described as that at which everything aims.” In other words, everything we do is grounded on a concept of value or a belief in the good of something.
For example, a book is written because the writer upholds certain beliefs about value/good of what he is saying; teachers select certain literary texts for study because they believe it is of value or good for some reason. This value can be individualistic (e.g. writing is liberating and pleasurable to oneself), instrumental (e.g. the literary text contributes to a national narrative), or other-oriented i.e. good for someone else (e.g. the writing contributes to fighting social injustice, human rights for particular groups). Of course, these are not discrete categories but may overlap. The point is that underlying everything we do – every action, every word we write, what we choose to teach in the classroom, what we teach etc. – are values or beliefs in the good of something. One can also perform out of a bad intention but that itself is a value or belief in the good of something.
Now when we talk about literature education, I am specifically referring to literature education in the public sphere which I have argued in the article is premised on criticism. Yes, we can talk about experiencing texts and so on but literature teaching and assessment have been historically established on the principles of criticism. For example, at the secondary and JC level, students are initiated into how to perform critical appreciation, practical criticism, informed response to texts etc.
To take the concept of criticism a little further, literature education equips students to critically engage with the kinds of values and belief systems inherent in texts and informing texts. In this way, criticism disrupts any naive notion of a “pure experience” or innocent reading the text. For example, a student may enjoy reading Animal Farm on my own at home but in the classroom, the teacher facilitates conversations and dialogues about the inherent values in the text e.g. the dangers of totalitarianism that Orwell highlights or the socio-political factors that informed the way the text was produced and received etc.
I think that if we want to argue for Literature education’s significance in the curriculum today, we need to return to the idea of how it equips students with the dispositions and capacities to critically engage with values in all kinds of texts. These dispositions and skills are essential as societies become increasing globally connected and hyer-mediated.
No comments:
Post a Comment