Knowing the subject; knowing its history: Examining key figures in English who contributed to its emancipatory nature
Abstract
This chapter examines the legacy of emancipation that influences the teaching of English in Australia today. It takes a biographical-historical approach and investigates inherited emancipatory threads, including various ideologies and practices in English teaching concerning reading, moral formation, social equality, and personal development. To do so, the chapter explores some of the ideas of Matthew Arnold, F.R. Leavis, Raymond Williams, Richard Hoggart, John Dixon, Terry Eagleton, Ian Hunter, and Bronwyn Mellor and Annette Patterson, in relation to emancipation. The chapter considers how imagined possibilities for English teaching can be shaped productively by knowing the historical narratives of emancipation. This is because understanding past emphases in English can elucidate English teaching for the purposes of equity, justice, and democracy in the present.
RAS ID
77601
Document Type
Book Chapter
Date of Publication
12-24-2024
School
School of Education
Copyright
subscription content
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Identifier
Trish Dowsett: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8503-7248
Comments
Jones, C., & Dowsett, T. (2024). Knowing the subject; knowing its history: Examining key figures in English who contributed to its emancipatory nature. In English Language Arts as an Emancipatory Subject (pp. 3-22). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003470052-2