Literary Theory and the Teaching of English (The Standpoint of Praxis [Part Two])

This essay commences where our previous essay on praxis left off. Our intention in that essay was to reaffirm the capacity of English educators to learn from the languages and experiences of their students. In this essay we begin by revisiting the world of their experiences to consider how literary theory might enhance our capacity to support their agency as meaning-makers. This involves an excursus on the moment of theory that confronts a paradox: early attempts to advocate the importance of theory for English teachers, although reflecting a healthy iconoclasm, often involved a denial of the legitimacy of students’ experience as a frame of reference for the exchanges within classroom settings. We conclude by offering a reading of Ian Reid’s The Making of Literature as an example of how literary theory might productively be combined with an openness towards students’ experiences that allows them to engage in authentic meaning-making.