The 21st Oxford Conference on the teaching of literature took place at Corpus Christi College on 1-7 April 2006. The British Council welcomed to the college 43 teachers and practitioners in literature education and in English language. The topic for the week was intercultural awareness in the teaching of language, literature and culture, and the international group of participants brought an incredible range of perspectives and experiences to bear on the discussions.
Participants enjoying a workshop.
Guest speakers included Simon Armitage, Val Bloom, Jan Blake, Romesh Gunesekera and George Szirtes, plus a star cast of UK academics: Elleke Boehmer and Robert Eaglestone (Royal Holloway University); Graham Mort (Lancaster University); Peter Childs (University of Gloucestershire) and Sean Matthews (Nottingham University).
Shumaila Khan, a participant at the conference, said:
‘We returned to our countries at the conclusion of the conference educated, enlightened and more empowered by the experience, and more aware of our responsibilities as teachers of a literature that has of late become less ‘English’ and more global in scale and scope.’
Participants talking to Simon Armitage.
For more information about the speakers, the programme
More information on previous conferences:
Reading Reputations (2005)
Reading Worlds (2004)
Reading Screens (2003)
Fresh air in the classroom (2002)
Firing the Canon (2001)
From Critical Reading to Creative Writing (2000)
John McRae highlights some of the top moments from the 2004 conference in an article for our online magazine Literature Matters.
The Oxford Conference is designed for all those who teach literature at tertiary and upper secondary levels, or who are involved with teacher training. The majority of participants contribute short papers on aspects of their own teaching experience and research.
The Conference uses lectures and workshops to explore current theoretical issues and teaching practice, and is aimed specifically at those teaching English literature overseas.
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