Teaching Class: Pedagogical Approaches to Working-Class Literature in English
Teaching Class: Pedagogical Approaches to Working-Class Literature in English
The recent resurgence of scholarly interest in working-class literature (see, for example, Clarke, Clarke & Hubble, Lennon & Nilsson, Steven) has not yet been accompanied by a comparable investigation of its possibilities as a pedagogical field. While important efforts to redress the curricular neglect of working-class voices in particular national traditions have been made in recent years (e.g. Binfield & Christmas), a more comprehensive exploration of the pedagogical status of creative writing by and about the working class is needed in the present conjuncture. At a time of global uncertainty and polycrisis, as dynamics of social and economic marginalization and super-exploitation combine with neo-authoritarian political experiments, the creative expressions of the precarious, impoverished and working majority acquire a particular relevance to which literary educators cannot remain indifferent.
The proposed edited collection will offer a wide range of contemporary perspectives on the teaching of working-class literature in English. Individual chapters (of around 6000-8000 words) may address – but are not limited to – the following aspects:
- Theoretical reflections on the pedagogy of literary texts by and about the working class.
- The status of working-class literature in English curricula and specific teaching contexts around the world.
- Individual case studies with a focus on the teaching of particular texts by or about the working class.
Prospective contributors should submit a chapter proposal of around 300 words as well as a short bio to roberto.del.valle.alcala@sh.se by December 31, 2024.
References
Binfield, Kevin & William J. Christmas (eds.), Teaching Laboring-Class British Literature of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries (The Modern Language Association of America, 2018).
Clarke, Ben (ed.), The Routledge Companion to Working-Class Literature (Routledge, 2024).
Clarke, Ben & Nick Hubble (eds.), Working-Class Writing: Theory and Practice (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018).
Lennon, John & Magnus Nilsson (eds.), Working-Class Literature(s): Historical and International Perspectives (Stockholm University Press, 2017).
Steven, Mark, Class War: A Literary History (Verso, 2023).