Literature’s not for me: reframing students as stakeholders in the english literature classroom

In this session, I argue that in spite of English teachers’ strong commitment to inclusive classrooms, aspects of literature teaching persist which perpetuate a sense of exclusion for many students. The careful selection of literary texts in one tool English teachers use to help students feel included in terms of representation; this is a also a means of validating the experiences, perspectives and struggles of marginalised groups (eg Watson et al, 2022). However, I am calling for a broader re-examination of the ways in which we think about literary study and students themselves as stakeholders within the discipline. An over-emphasis on inducting students into existing patterns for analysing literature can prohibit their chance of influencing those patterns, and can lead to disenchantment and disengagement. A framework will be offered by which English teachers might reframe themselves and their students as theorists of, as well as actors within the discipline of literary study, in order to help stimulate literary engagement for those who choose further study of literature, and those who don’t.