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Reading reputations: the 20th Oxford conference on teaching literature |
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Oxford, 3-9 April 2005 (event 0502) |
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2005 marks the 20th anniversary of the Oxford Conference on the teaching of literature. Over the past twenty years, the Oxford Conference has influenced discussion and debate on literature teaching and given participants opportunities to meet and hear some of the most eminent academics, critics and writers in the UK. In order to celebrate the anniversary and look to the future of the event, this year’s conference will involve leading names in the spheres of literature and education and offer participants the opportunity to discuss issues focused on critical reputations and practical pedagogy. We will be looking at three key questions:
•What tools and knowledge do today’s students need to analyse both traditional and contemporary work?
•Where can we make meaningful links with other disciplines, value systems and cultures?
•How are teachers to assess and explain the value of literature teaching and literary/critical competence?
Track One: Critical Reputations
Seminars, reading groups and the media all discuss literature in different ways. In this track, we will explore the changing reputations and relations of these divergent forms of criticism, assessing the benefits and perils of the current situation for today's readers.
Track Two: Practical Pedagogy
This track will focus on a number of fundamental issues informing the teaching of literature and literary criticism. It will explore some of the practical implications of discussions in Track One in an attempt to bridge the gap between critical theory and pedagogic practice.
Some of the issues to be addressed include:
•What value judgements underlie our choice of reading materials? How influential are critics and canons?
•What cultural factors influence the reading and teaching of literature?
•What role can literature play in developing intercultural competence as an educational aim?
The conference is designed primarily to meet the professional needs of teachers of literature at upper secondary and university levels. It is of interest also to curriculum designers, teacher trainers, textbook writers, head teachers and other educational managers concerned with the planning and delivery of literature syllabuses. Participants may be involved with using literature as an integral component of their teaching, or may simply be interested in broadening the pedagogical scope and didactic methods of their approaches.
We are looking for people who are prepared to collaborate in advance of and following the conference, to work together in conjunction with the chairs throughout the week on developing long-term project ideas – from small curriculum changes involving contemporary writing, to building reading groups, or working on major projects such as seminars, readings and conferences. Part of the Oxford programme will be given to practical discussion and support for such projects. |
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