The call of ambiguity: lingering over uncertainty as classroom practice
English Teaching: Practice & Critique
ISSN: 1175-8708
Article publication date: 8 December 2020
Issue publication date: 31 March 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This paper encourages teachers and scholars of English Language Arts to engage deliberately with literary ambiguity.
Design/methodology/approach
Through close attention to ambiguous moments in commonly taught texts, the essay argues that explicit attention to ambiguity can support four enduring goals in the field: fostering social justice, developing students’ personal growth, cultivating dispositions and skills for democracy and engendering disciplinary literacy skills.
Findings
The readings suggest the following: first, wrestling with ambiguities in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird may foster critical orientations needed in the fight for social justice; second, ambiguities in Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese may support students’ personal development; third, questions generated by Walter Dean Myers’ Monster invite readers to practice skills needed for democracy; finally, exploring divergent interpretations of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak may develop students’ disciplinary literacy skills.
Originality/value
In an era marked by standardization and accountability, it may be difficult for teachers and scholars to linger with literary ambiguity. By underscoring the instrumental potential of literary ambiguity, the essay illustrates why and how teachers might reject this status quo and embrace the indeterminacy of literary ambiguity.
Keywords
Citation
McKenzie, C.A. and Bender, G. (2021), "The call of ambiguity: lingering over uncertainty as classroom practice", English Teaching: Practice & Critique, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 51-63. https://doi.org/10.1108/ETPC-02-2020-0013
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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