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Literature, Pedagogy, and Curriculum in Secondary Education

Examples from France

  • Book
  • © 2017

Overview

Authors:
  1. M. Martin Guiney

    1. Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Kenyon College, Gambier, USA

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  • Explores the importance of literature not as a spiritual or utilitarian discipline alone, but rather as a useful spiritual discipline
  • Seeks to examine the uncertain future of the “general education” status of literary studies by learning from its past
  • Accelerates progress in debate over the value of literary study by explaining and evaluating arguments from Western educators

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction: Literature as Academic Discipline During Hard Times

    • M. Martin Guiney
    Pages 1-33

  3. Aristocrats or Anarchists: Who Has Power over Literature?

    • M. Martin Guiney
    Pages 35-59

  4. The Baccalauréat Exam and the French Canonical Literary Exercise

    • M. Martin Guiney
    Pages 61-88

  5. Inventing and Defending the General Education of Literature

    • M. Martin Guiney
    Pages 89-120

  6. Literature in French Schools After 1968

    • M. Martin Guiney
    Pages 121-160

  7. How (Not) to Teach: “Parroting” vs “Proximity” in Cinematic Representations of Literary Pedagogy

    • M. Martin Guiney
    Pages 161-189

  8. Harnessing the Neo-liberal Beast

    • M. Martin Guiney
    Pages 191-232

  9. Conclusion: The Future of Literary Studies in General Education

    • M. Martin Guiney
    Pages 233-272

  10. Back Matter

    Pages 273-305
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Keywords

About this book

This book argues for the importance of literature studies using the historical debate between the disinterested disciplines (“art for art’s sake”) and utilitarian or productive disciplines. Forgoing the traditional argument that literature is a unique spiritual resource, as well as the utilitarian thought that literary pedagogy promotes skills that are relevant to a post-industrial economy, Guiney suggests that literary pedagogy must enable mutual access between the classroom and the outside world. It must recognize the need for every human being to become a conscious producer of culture rather than a consumer, through an active process of literary reading and writing. Using the history of French curricular reforms as a case study for his analysis, Guiney provides a contextualized redefinition of literature’s social value.

Reviews

“This is a rare and invaluable book that is thoroughly grounded in a particular socio-historical context while also offering a compelling resolution to a problem that is both current and urgent: why and how to teach literature in a general education curriculum. It is essential reading  for those invested in the teaching of literature.” (Cristina Vischer Bruns, author of Why Literature? The Value of Literary Reading and What It Means for Teaching)

“The arguments in this book will echo far beyond the walls of French literary pedagogy. Guiney draws on reception theory and cultural studies, and makes a strong case for including economic theory in a new, robust defense of the teaching of literature and the humanities. His book is a must read for anyone attempting to defend a liberal arts education today.” (Dana Lindaman, Associate Professor of French Studies, University of Minnesota Duluth, USA)

“This book offers a wide-ranging, cogent analysis of the crisis of French literary pedagogy.  Guiney’s illuminating study sheds light on the urgent need to reinvent the literary pedagogy practiced in French high schools today in order to address its students’ experiences and concerns.” (Ralph Albanese, Professor of French, University of Memphis, USA)  

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Kenyon College, Gambier, USA

    M. Martin Guiney

About the author

M. Martin Guiney is Professor of French in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Kenyon College, USA. He has published on literary pedagogy in France and the United States, as well as on twentieth-century literature and film.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Literature, Pedagogy, and Curriculum in Secondary Education

  • Book Subtitle: Examples from France

  • Authors: M. Martin Guiney

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52138-1

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Education, Education (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-84830-3Published: 01 August 2018

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-52138-1Published: 31 May 2017

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: X, 305

  • Topics: Early Childhood Education, Literacy, Curriculum Studies

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