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Kelly Walsh |
| Of Mere Reading: the difficulty of what (it) is to be and Other Notes |
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왈쉬켈리 |
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| Abstract |
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My contribution to the Underwood International College Symposium on the Global Liberal Arts emphasizes the value of “mere reading” as a pedagogical practice in the literature classroom. Taking inspiration from Paul de Man and Wallace Stevens, I argue that to develop undergraduate students into capable critical thinkers, we, as professors of literature, should assign texts that offer resistance; and furthermore, that we need to make them interpret these difficult texts, by themselves, without turning to outside sources－especially the Internet－for explanation or verification. By merely reading, without any other guides than the text itself, students are given the opportunity to gain confidence and insights that can be truly transformative. For those students, especially, who will never take another literature course, mere reading is a tool that will make them more self-sufficient and better able to confront the demands they will meet elsewhere in their academic and professional careers. And ideally, such a method of reading will help to forge more inventive and empathetic global citizens, ones with the capacity to imagine kinder, finer futures. |
| Key Words:
Underwood International College Symposium on the Global Liberal Arts, mere reading, liberal arts curriculum, undergraduate literature pedagogy, Paul de Man (1919-1983), Wallace Stevens (1879-1955) |
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