Sacred cows' herd instincts

Article Abstract:

English teaching in UK universities has been affected by a new orthodoxy of unexamined assumptions. Students are encouraged to make political comments of works from the point of view of feminism and post-structuralism. Students read fashionable theorists and may neglect the works of literature themselves that are being analysed. The proponents of the new fashion exclude outsiders and seek to deny joy in literature. Aesthetics should not be denied, and democracy is important in universities.

Universities and colleges, Political aspects

---

Ever-changing face of English

Article Abstract:

When the British universities began it was assumed that anyone studying there already had a background in the classic texts of English literature. Many of the courses stopped at the 19th century until changes came in with the founding of the newer universities in the 1960's. In some colleges English literature was only offered as part of a general arts course. Some institutions stayed with the original ideas, so 1990's students can choose traditional or varied types of courses.

---

...but what a memorable performance

Article Abstract:

An analysis of a survey of faculty members in university English departments in the UK which sought to ascertain the influence they believe theory exerts over the study of English literature. It is suggested that while theory may have been an increasingly influential force from the 1960s onwards, in recent years its influence has begun to wane.

United Kingdom, Influence, College teachers, College faculty, Surveys, Criticism, Literary criticism

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Beaten by the big stick. Author as mirror to the soul
• Abstracts: Yesterday's realism. Strategy and the search for peace. Towards a new peace: forgiveness as politics
• Abstracts: Character education: What schools can do. The reform agenda: the Edison Project. High achievers in education: an invisible crisis
• Abstracts: Where 20 years' salary buys a PC. Democracy's symbol reaches breaking point. Survival skirmish in aftermath of war
• Abstracts: When alpha is a non-starter. Sharp and sensitive - but watch the twinkle in its eye. Britain's excellence in basic research is no longer guaranteed

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.