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Book part
Publication date: 31 July 2023

Ishani Deb

The chapter discusses how adolescents are moving beyond the dichotomy of biological and linguistic socialization, forming interpretive meanings at home through the reading of…

Abstract

The chapter discusses how adolescents are moving beyond the dichotomy of biological and linguistic socialization, forming interpretive meanings at home through the reading of literature in their mother tongue, Bengali. Involving cultural relevance and non-vulnerability, the chapter conceptualizes “leisure activities” and “leisure pursuits” of reading practice of the IXth and Xth graders from both Bengali and English medium schools in Kolkata. The discussion from the theoretical construction mentions the further conceptualization of reading habits and language choice. This is where adolescents derive their agency. Adolescents from the Indian and especially from the Bengali perspective have a path of colonial discourse. From historical standpoint, the change in Bengali language and its grammar structure has influenced the acceptance of Bengali literature among adolescents in varying degrees through generations. Using mixed methods and content analysis, the chapter focuses on young teenagers’ narration on the way they maneuver curriculum and literature in their respective homes. Authors, for example, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Satyajit Ray, and Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, form the Bengali identity construction in the present time. Rabindranath Tagore’s, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s works are always prevalent in the Bengali language syllabus. These are considered the foundational modern literary figures of pre-independent India. These are taught from a nationalist and gender discourse perspective. The adolescents in this chapter also read those at a minimum level at home and attempt to juggle the difficult vocabulary involved. The simple language of post-independent literature is much sought after by teenagers compared to pre-independent literature. Sunil Gangopadhyay’s Kakababu series, Satyajit Ray’s Feluda and Professor Shanku series, and Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay’s Chander Pahar stand out among the adolescents from both English and Bengali medium unanimously in this chapter.

Details

The Social Construction of Adolescence in Contemporaneity
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-449-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1968

BOOKS are among the greatest and most wonderful achievements of human genius, they are also a powerful means of struggle for progress. The book accompanies man all his life; it is…

Abstract

BOOKS are among the greatest and most wonderful achievements of human genius, they are also a powerful means of struggle for progress. The book accompanies man all his life; it is a creation of his brain and soul. It reflects the life of mankind and is the result of collective efforts of author and publisher, type‐setter and illustrator. But foremost a book is always and everywhere a social and political phenomenon. One of the most apt evaluations of the book was given by V. I. Lenin in 1917, when he was known to state to A. V. Lunacharsky, “The book is a great force indeed”.

Details

New Library World, vol. 69 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Article
Publication date: 7 December 2015

Lifang Cui, Gillian Hubbard and Margaret Gleeson

The purpose of this paper is to survey and consider the implications of the literature justifying the value of teaching poetry. There has been a long tradition of literature

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to survey and consider the implications of the literature justifying the value of teaching poetry. There has been a long tradition of literature education in the English departments of Chinese universities. English Poetry courses are offered within optional literature modules in senior stages of a BA in English language and literature. In 2000, the new national syllabus for tertiary English majors was issued. This syllabus has brought the teaching of English into line with the perceived practical needs of society. As a result, poetry courses have been under threat within the degree. A substantial number of university teachers have responded to this threat with articles arguing the value of teaching of poetry.

Design/methodology/approach

The China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), the largest database of academic journals in China, reveals that from 2000 to 2013, 102 articles about teaching English poetry to Chinese people learning English as a foreign language were published in Chinese academic journals, of which 67 are concerned with English majors. This literature examines these 67 articles.

Findings

These articles justify the purpose of teaching English poetry, evaluate the content of poetry courses and share pedagogical strategies. The issues within this discussion fall into three categories: why teach poetry; what to teach in poetry courses; and how to teach poetry. Because the commitment of Chinese teachers to sharing their beliefs about teaching English poetry is positioned in the context of increased advocacy for the creation of inter-disciplinary market-orientated graduates, discomfort, uncertainty and the desire for change emerge in this discussion. On the other hand, teachers looking for change express caution about the costs of changing pedagogical approaches on the development of the skills of close reading and analysis of poetical texts.

Originality/value

This investigation of the local Chinese context resonates with and contributes to the wider discussion of the challenges faced by English literature teachers in both second- (L2) and first-language (L1) contexts and warrants examination. It is difficult to say in advance how far such knowledge could contribute to any policy decisions that may be made in the future, but it is important that the voice of teachers contributes to the larger international debate about the value of humanities in tertiary-level education.

Details

English Teaching: Practice & Critique, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1175-8708

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 December 2015

Terry Locke

– The purpose of this paper is to combine conceptual and documentary research.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to combine conceptual and documentary research.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on a range of New Zealand curriculum documents and on the history of English subject in the New Zealand context, it maps aspects of the contestation that has accompanied the development of various versions of the subject over time. It also explores ways in which the subject has always drawn on a range of primary disciplinary discourses through a process of recontextualization (Bernstein, 2000).

Findings

Based on this analysis, it problematizes the conventional location of literary study within the English curriculum, arguing that this arrangement disadvantages English as an additional language (EAL) students with an interest in literature. As another plank in the argument, it argues that literary study is itself currently disadvantaged by being linked to narrowly conceived notions of textual practice and the pervasive power of high-stake assessment technologies in constructing content and pedagogy.

Originality/value

A solution to both problems is offered, arguing a case for relocating literary study in an expanded Arts curriculum. The paper then goes on to draw on the concept of disciplinary literacy, to argue a case for the “reinvention” of the English teacher as a cross-disciplinary resource teaching a re-framed subject renamed “Disciplinary Rhetorics”. It concludes by discussing the implications of these two re-envisionments for English teacher identities and the construction of their professional content and pedagogical knowledge.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 June 2010

Khalid Mohammed Al-Balushi

In this paper, I argue that English could be of more relevance to the Arabian Gulf if we conceptualized it as an educational forum for familiarizing students with socio-linguistic…

Abstract

In this paper, I argue that English could be of more relevance to the Arabian Gulf if we conceptualized it as an educational forum for familiarizing students with socio-linguistic conventions relating to a wide variety of text types and for sharpening their critical awareness of the political implications of the uses of English. I make my case against the backdrop of a particular local context in the Arabian Gulf: the current BA programme in English at the College of Arts and Social Science, Sultan Qaboos University, the Sultanate of Oman. I maintain that the programme is predicated upon conceiving of English as a field (or rather fields) of knowledge, as academic disciplines of English literature, linguistics and translation, each with its own sets of concepts and frames of reference. As such, the programme both falls short of being fully theoretically coherent and fails to take into account the recent educational developments in Oman. Drawing upon the theoretical construct of discourse, I propose an outline of an alternative BA programme in English that revolves around the uses of English and their political implications.

Details

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2077-5504

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1974

Tom Schultheiss, Lorraine Hartline, Jean Mandeberg, Pam Petrich and Sue Stern

The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the…

Abstract

The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the RSR review column, “Recent Reference Books,” by Frances Neel Cheney. “Reference Books in Print” includes all additional books received prior to the inclusion deadline established for this issue. Appearance in this column does not preclude a later review in RSR. Publishers are urged to send a copy of all new reference books directly to RSR as soon as published, for immediate listing in “Reference Books in Print.” Reference books with imprints older than two years will not be included (with the exception of current reprints or older books newly acquired for distribution by another publisher). The column shall also occasionally include library science or other library related publications of other than a reference character.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 2 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1986

LIONEL MADDEN

The last decade has witnessed considerable changes in the nature and range of the general current bibliographies which serve the student of English literature. The development of…

Abstract

The last decade has witnessed considerable changes in the nature and range of the general current bibliographies which serve the student of English literature. The development of an online database for modern languages and literature, including English, has added a new dimension to bibliographical provision. One entirely new printed service has been introduced and existing printed bibliographies have been significantly modified. Librarians are among the main purchasers of these materials and are also called upon to advise on their value and use. The present article surveys the developments which have taken place and seeks to identify the particular value of each work as a contribution to the bibliographical control of newly published materials in this field.

Details

Library Review, vol. 35 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0024-2535

Article
Publication date: 5 June 2017

Jacqueline Manuel and Don Carter

This paper provides a critical interpretative analysis of the first secondary English syllabus for schools in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, contained within the Courses for

Abstract

Purpose

This paper provides a critical interpretative analysis of the first secondary English syllabus for schools in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, contained within the Courses for Study for High Schools (New South Wales Department of Public Instruction, 1911). The purpose of the paper is to examine the “continuities that link English curriculum discourses and practices with previous discourses and practices” in the rhetorical curriculum. The analysis identifies those aspects of the 1911 English syllabus that have since become normative and challenges the appropriateness of certain enduring orthodoxies in a twenty-first century context.

Design/methodology/approach

Focussing on a landmark historical curriculum document from 1911, this paper draws on methods of historical comparative and documentary analysis. It sits within the tradition of historical curriculum research that critiques curriculum documents as a primary source for understanding continuities of discourses and practices. A social constructionist approach informs the analysis.

Findings

The conceptualisation of subject English evident in the structure, content and emphases of the 1911 English syllabus encodes a range of “discourses and practices” that have in some form endured or been “reconstituted and remade” (Cormack, 2008, p. 275) over the course of a century. The analysis draws attention to those aspects of the subject that have remained unproblematised and taken-for-granted, and the implications of this for universal student participation and attainment.

Originality/value

This paper reorients critical attention to a significant historical curriculum document that has not, to date, been explored against the backdrop twenty-first century senior secondary English curriculum. In doing so, it presents extended insights into a range of now normative structures, beliefs, ideas, assumptions and practices and questions the potential impact of these on student learning, access and achievement in senior secondary English in NSW in the twenty-first century.

Details

History of Education Review, vol. 46 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0819-8691

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 December 2019

Xiaochen Fang and Jinwei Zhu

This paper aims to present a systematic review of the literature concerning major aspects of innovation performance and compare the research hotspots of innovation performance in…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present a systematic review of the literature concerning major aspects of innovation performance and compare the research hotspots of innovation performance in the twenty-first century with three primary purposes: first, to view the trend of Chinese and English literature on innovation performance research; second, to summarize the research streams in innovation performance; and third, to predict possible directions for future innovation performance research.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors first introduce a framework of innovation performance research developments. Then they construct a representative data set of bibliographic records, obtaining 1,768 articles in the SSCI citation index database and 1,431 articles in the CSSCI database. The authors then make a comparative analysis from two aspects: research themes and development of academic communities. The research objects are keywords and references so that co-word and co-cited reference networks are established. Finally, the authors combine the direction of research streams about “innovation performance” to summarize 28 questions in three research fields that can be studied in the future.

Findings

The momentum of the literature in English on innovation performance is increasing, whereas the Chinese literature has declined in recent years. The direction of research streams in Chinese and English literature is the same: they are the “innovation system/elements” research stream, the “innovation activity/ability” research stream and the “innovation network/social capital” research stream. Although the directions are the same, the specific contents of the research are different. The direction of future development of innovation performance research can be undertaken in three aspects: follow research into expanding hot topics, mine the research of typical academic circles and develop research into exploring more fields. Combined with the direction of research streams, 28 questions in three research fields are summarized.

Originality/value

Based on the background of “mass entrepreneurship and innovation” in China, the research on enterprise “innovation performance” is becoming more and more important. The findings help us summarize the research streams related to innovation performance research, better understand the themes that point to directions for future development of innovation performance research and summarize 28 questions.

Details

Chinese Management Studies, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-614X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 April 2009

Barbara F.H. Allen

The purpose of this paper is to introduce librarians, faculty, and other interested individuals to contemporary German literature in English translation.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce librarians, faculty, and other interested individuals to contemporary German literature in English translation.

Design/methodology/approach

German‐language authors born in 1950 or later and listed on the Contemporary Living Authors Comprehensive List developed by the German vendor Otto Harrassowitz are searched in OCLC's WorldCat database to determine the existence of English translations. A bio‐bibliographical list is then developed featuring all contemporary German‐language authors who have achieved an English language translation of at least one of their literary works.

Findings

Of the approximately 1,400 writers on Harrassowitz's comprehensive list, a surprisingly large number of almost 80 authors of the younger generation (born in 1950 or later) have been translated into English.

Originality/value

This bio‐bibliography of contemporary German belles lettres (of the younger generation) in English translation is the first of its kind. It can be used by librarians to check their current library holdings and to expand their collections of German literature in English translation.

Details

Collection Building, vol. 28 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0160-4953

Keywords

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