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Language Journal of Literary Education. 2019. No. 02
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- The presence of C. P. Cavafy in Greek education: Landmarks and Gaps(2019) Kalasaridou, SotiriaAbstract This article aims to highlight the crucial stages of C.P. Cavafy’s “history in education” through textbooks about literature from 1930 until today. More specifically, the research is constructed around two areas: a) the fundamental role of literary criticism and how it was related to the introduction of C.P. Cavafy in education in 1930, b) the degree of osmosis between History of Literature and History of Education. The methodological criteria of the research are drawn from different areas, such as: i) literary criticism, ii) history of education and educational policy, iii) history of textbook anthologies, and iv) poetry anthologies. a) During a course of eighty years, C. P. Cavafy is found in thirty-five anthologies, teachers’ textbooks and curricula, whereas the parallel reading recommendations reach a staggering eighty-seven; Ithaca is the most anthologised poem — twelve times. b) The positive opinions by the critics and the momentum of school anthologies that tried a holistic approach to poetry defined the inclusion of C. P. Cavafy in the school anthologies during the educational reform of 1929-1932. c) The position of Cavafy in the History of Modern Greek Literature by K. Th. Dimaras surpasses the efforts made by the critics of that time. Moreover, Linos Politis also holds a part of the restoration of C. P. Cavafy as far as the school textbooks are concerned, as his History of Modern Greek Literature, as well as his poetic anthology, determined the school literary canon from the days of the Restoration of Democracy until now.
- The dialogic relationship between literary texts and paintings and its application to Literary Education in High School(2019) Toutziaraki, MariannaThe object of the present paper is the functional utilisation of the artistic image in the teaching of literature in Secondary Education. The proposal for the introduction of paintings to literary education is founded on Bakhtin’s principle of dialogism. The wider spirit of the theory of dialogism allows us to detach the literary text from the solitude of its autonomy, connecting it not only to other literary texts but also to other forms of art, which unfold within a particular historical and cultural context. One example of the dialogic relationship between literature and painting could be the dialogue between Kostas Karyotakis’ poem ‘We are just some…’ and Egon Schiele’s paintings, which was deployed in a teaching session for Greek eleventh graders. The teaching course, which is described thoroughly in the article, gave prominence to the dialogic relationship between the poetic text and the artistic images on a thematic, on a style and on a sociohistorical level. It also brought out the students’ role as active participants in the dialogue between the poem and the paintings and as crucial agents of the completion and the renewal of their meaning. This sample teaching has proven that the utilisation of the visual artwork material can be fully incorporated into the implementation framework of the current teaching methods of literature, can reignite pupils' own interest in the ideas and expressive ways of poetry and initiate them successfully into the fundamental issues of art in general.
- Race and Nation in Ella McFadyen’s Pegmen Tales(2019) Kelen, KitIn Ella McFadyen’s 1940’s Pegmen Tales the reader witnesses an Australian wishfulness read in the triumphant adventures of the small – of domestic objects brought to life through the imagination of children. In McFadyen’s highly didactic tales, clothes pegs stolen and deliberately misused come to embody an understated national ethos with biblical pretensions. The Peg family sail the world in their “Ark”, spreading antipodean wonder, cheer and ingenuity everywhere they go. The Pegs themselves – as home-made toys – represent the imaginative ingenuity of Australian children. These are toys any child could make, and so may be read as a social leveller. The dream bringing them to life is that of decent, healthy children and the Pegs (as post-war family, sans father, strive to set themselves and the world good standards). Every anthropomorphism is deservedly read as comment on the human race or some department or aspect of it, and in this case it is Australian class, race and national pretensions which are promoted through the vehicle of mainly exemplary characters who, in their travels – for the sake of plot – negotiate a series of mildly ethical crises, and always come out smiling. This paper proceeds by considering the issues raised above in relation a small number of episodes from the tales: these dealing with the invasion of rogue mice, the creation of the Pegmen, with Pongo (from the Congo) and the Australian Aborigines, with the Peg’s expedition to Antarctica and with the metamorphosis of swagmen into grey kangaroos. Race and Nation in Ella McFadyen’s Pegmen Tales
- Homer’s Odyssey: from classical poetry to threshold graphic narratives for dual readership(2019) Moula, Evangelia E; Malafantis, Konstantinos DThis article’s focus is some unconventional adaptations of the Odyssey in graphic language, belonging to the threshold literary field and contextualized in different historical and cultural milieus. Since ancient Greek literature in general and Homer in particular, ceased to be considered as sacred scripts, they discarded the centuries-long formalistic and idealistic approach and served as a vehicle for criticism or as a mirror of each receiving culture’s present. The kind of relation established between each adaptation and its pre-text is defined by the inscribed meta-narratives in its body. The graphic adaptations under discussion, countercultural, demystifying or even subversive, participate in the so called “cross-audience phenomenon”, addressing a dual readership, both children and adults. They aim at undermining the heroic ethos, provoking skepticism and criticizing allusively the contemporary politics. They also trivialize the original by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation. This way they facilitate dialogue between past and present, by creating a contact zone within which pluralism is the major trait. Key words: The Odyssey, classics’ reception, comic book adaptations, threshold literature, pluralism
- Integrating Language and Literature: A Text World Theory Approach(2019) Cushing, IanIn UK schools, there remains a compartmentalisation of English into ‘language’ and ‘literature’, evident in the ways that the subject is taught and examined and in the degrees to which teachers perceive themselves as being either a ‘language’ or a ‘literature’ teacher. In this paper, we suggest that an approach informed by cognitive linguistics and cognitive stylistics offers a wealth of affordances to the teacher who wishes to integrate aspects of linguistic and literary studies into their teaching. We argue that, in particular, the cognitive discourse grammar Text World Theory provides an accessible and usable set of pedagogical principles, and present two case studies of collaborative research with teachers in which they drew upon Text World Theory as a model for thinking about grammar teaching, literature teaching, lesson design, classroom talk and their own identity as a teacher of English. The data suggests that this approach may have positive benefits for students engaging in high-level linguistic analysis and the developing of responses to literature, and for teachers thinking about lesson and activity design.
- An emergent sense of the literary: Doing children’s poetry translation in the literature classroom(2019) Beauvais, ClementineThis article brings together findings from translation theory, the poetics of children’s poetry, and the pedagogy of translation, in an attempt to theorise the practice of poetry-translation in the literary classroom. I argue that translating children’s poetry in the context of translation workshops mobilises skills, and encourages ways of thinking about poetry, that espouse particularly well one of the complex challenges of literary education: namely, triggering in learners an emergent sense of the literary. Poetry-translation, I contend, allows for profoundly experiential engagement with some of the most sophisticated, and least easily articulated, aspects of the aesthetics of literature – prominently, the resistance of the literary text to paraphrase, the lack of a clear content-form dichotomy, and the embodied aspects of the literary encounter. Because translating is never just writing, but always already writing one’s reading, the translation of poetry in the literary classroom requires pupils to capture, experience, and take ownership of their encounters with literature, in order to re-express them. I first explain the practice of literary translation in the classroom; I then talk about contemporary poetry translation theory and its deeply phenomenological approach to text. I next show why the particular poetics of children’s poetry situate that kind of text ideally for a pre-semantic, intuitive approach to poetry translation. Finally, I look at the writing process as a way of turning the pupil into what Roland Barthes calls a poéticien, a person whose poetry-writing does theoretical work. Key words: children’s poetry, translation, literary education, aesthetics
- Teaching Lyric Poetry: An Approach through Genre(2019) Paparousi, MaritaA genre approach to teaching lyric poetry is the subject of this essay. Part one of the essay contains a discussion and critique of genre theory as it relates specifically to the use of genre as a framework to teach poetry. Part two examines the various ways lyric genre has been defined in literary theory and tries to offer a polyphonic range of perspectives about lyric genre’s most prominent characteristics. The final section suggests a sample lesson plan and student-centered activities intended to strengthen student’s understanding of lyric poetry.
- Young readers and a portuguese sonnet of the 18th century: a viable alliance? A trial in the 2nd Cycle of Basic Education(2019) Custodio, Pedro BalausThe program of the 2nd cycle of Basic Education in Portugal contains several guidelines on the teaching of the poetic text, not only in terms of contents and objectives, but also concerning the suggestion of texts to read. These proposals are always supported by the lists included in the National Reading Plan. Now, regarding the poetic text, inserted in the field called literary education, will it be useful to make available texts that deviate from the trajectories that the textbooks outline? Is it possible to embark on texts traditionally read by a more mature student audience? Will students be able to meet this challenge of reading and understanding without compromising their learning and tastes? This article aims to describe a trial carried out with students from the 2nd cycle of primary education in Portugal, in which it is proposed the reading of a text commonly read and /or studied years later in secondary education. It is the sonnet " O colchão dentro do toucado " by Nicolau Tolentino, an author from the XVIII Century. We will examine how this text can captivate the students and spark their interest for poetry through an extraordinary stylistic simplicity, a rhetoric stripped of adornments and an almost colloquial and graphic language that knows how to mix naivety, the unforeseen and some surprises, features so pleasing to these young readers. Can this text contribute to the purpose of literary education of the reader of the 2nd cycle of basic education? In what way and by what means will we propose the reading of an eighteenth-century text to young people of the twenty-first century? These are the questions we will try to answer next.
- Creative writing as a way to approach children’s and young adult literature in teacher training(2019) Neira Piñeiro, María del RosarioThe aim of this work is to analyse the benefits of creative writing in teacher training, on the basis of the study of several experiences carried out along 4 academic courses, with a sample of 182 students, in the course of “Teaching Children’s Literature” of the Degree of Infant Education. Using a model of action research, with a qualitative methodology, the process is described and the final results are analysed. Participant observation, final products and the students’ perception are taken into account. As a result, the students made 40 recreations of children’s and young adult literature (CYAL) texts, created with different techniques. The students appreciated the task, highlighting its practical character, the relation with their professional future, together with creativity, enjoyment and the learning reached. The task conformed to students’ interests, fostered their motivation, promoted an active learners’ role, promoted an approach to CYAL, involved the application of knowledge acquired during the course and favoured the development of competences essential for teachers. To conclude, it is clear that creative writing are appropriate practices for teacher training, especially in the context of literary education.
- N on European Cultural Heritages in Poetry for Young People (In and Out of School)(2019) Alonso, Maria LuisaThe provision of education in schools can play an important role in managing social change brought about by the varied cultural legacies of migration. Poetry can be especially well-suited to encouraging awareness, reflection and debate about cultural difference. This article reflects on ideas that could be impeding such acknowledgement in school poetry selections and teaching strategies and highlights poetry’s overlooked suitability to engage young people in the expression of cultural difference in a progressively globalized world where cultivating cross-cultural understanding and tolerance needs to be at the top of our agendas
- Editorial: Poetry in Literary Education(2019) Mínguez López, Xavier; Kalogirou, Tzina; Senís, Juan
