Reading and Resisting Ideology: Literary Theory as Educational Reform

1
Reading and Resisting Ideology Literary Theory
as Educational Reform
NCTE Assembly for ResearchMidWinter Conference
ChicagoSaturday, February 25, 2006
2
Literary Theory asEducational Reform?
Theoretical Perspectives Inform and Reform

• Why we teach
• What we teach
• How we teach
• Educational outcomes

3

• The paradox of education is precisely thisthat
  as one begins to become conscious one begins to
  examine the society in which he is being
  educated. The purpose of education, finally, is
  to create in a person the ability to look at the
  world for himself, to make his own decisions.
  But no society is really anxious to have that
  kind of person around. What societies really,
  ideally, want is a citizenry which will simply
  obey the rules of society. If a society succeeds
  in this, that society is about perish. The
  obligation of anyone who thinks of himself as
  responsible is to examine society and try to
  change it and to fight itat no matter what risk.
  This is the only hope society has. This is the
  only way societies change.
• - James Baldwin

4
Theory ReformsHow Adolescents View
5
Ideology
In essence an ideology is a system of thought or
world view which an individual acquires
(usually unconsciously) from the world around
him. An ideology determines what you think is
important in life, what categories you put people
into, how you see male and female roles in life,
and a host of other things. You can visualize
your ideology as a grid , or a set of glasses,
through which you can see the world. -
Bonnycastle   The term ideology describes the
beliefs, attitudes, and habits of feeling which a
society inculcates in order to generate an
automatic reproduction of its structuring
premises. Ideology is what preserves social power
in the absence of direct coercion. - Ryan
6
Ideological common sense is common sense in the
service of sustaining unequal relations of power.
- Fairclough
7
Transformation Critical Thinking Literacy -
bell hooks
8
Until lions tell their stories, tales of hunting
will glorify the hunter. - African Proverb
9
The test of a first-rate intelligence is the
ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the
same time and still retain the ability to
function. One should, for example, be able to
see that things are hopeless and yet be
determined to make them otherwise. - F. Scott
Fitzgerald
10
It is not that we shouldnt care about individual
students and texts. We should, and I do. We
also recognize, however, that students and texts
are embedded in huge, living, sometimes
contradictory networks, and if we want students
to understand the workings of textuality, then we
have to think about those larger systems. -
Bruce Pirie
11
Reading the World
The relationship between the text and the world
is not simply a fascinating problem for textual
theory. It is, above all others, the problem
that makes textual theory necessary. -
Scholes  Being an enlightened witness means
becoming critically vigilant about the world we
live in. - bell hooks
12
Critical Theories
Marxist
Feminist
Reader Response
Deconstruction
Formalist
13
What We Teach
14
(No Transcript)
15
Something Old
16
(No Transcript)
17
(No Transcript)
18
(No Transcript)
19
(No Transcript)
20
Something New
21
On the Subwayfrom Four Perspectives
22
So What?
23
(No Transcript)
24
(No Transcript)
25
(No Transcript)
26
(No Transcript)
27
What They Read

• The war in Iraq
• A group of high school students plotted to kill
  their parents for insurance money
• The teaching of the Bible in schools
• September 11
• Hurricane Katrina
• The high school dress code
• Cliques and divisions within the school
• Government spying
• Iraqi elections
• The bird flu
• The effects of the media on teenagers

• Racially motivated fights in school
• The mild winter
• The existence of God
• The increasing amount of the world population in
  poverty
• The tsunami in Southeast Asia
• The war on drugs
• The miners trapped in West Virginia
• The lack of school funding and school
  overcrowding
• The Ford car company cutting 35,000 jobs in
  Minnesota
• Weapons of mass destruction

28
Five Readings
29
(No Transcript)
30
(No Transcript)
31
(No Transcript)
32
(No Transcript)
33
Can We Use Critical Lensesto Read the World?
Yes, but its too much work almost anything can
be looked at through a critical lens.
Yes, it helps a lot to try to analyze things
from different perspectives.
Yes, texts are used every day and everywhere to
influence us and reinforce ideas of society.
Yes, they are necessary to determine the complex
and varied messages being thrown at us every day.
Yes, but not every-thing in the world should
be critically viewed. We need to be able to use
lenses but not to over analyze.
Yes, it gives us many perspectives on the same
thing. It basically makes it possible to see more
than just the obvious.
No, we cannot use the critical lens to read the
world. We must endure what we are in. By
analyzing too much, the feeling we have is sucked
out.
34
Yes, but we cant focus on one lens or
over-analyze everything, or we will not get
anything done.
No. We can use critical lenses to interpret the
things we read in the world, but we read at face
value first. When we read, we subconsciously use
lenses anyway.
Yes, although it can be carried away. It is
necessary so you dont buy in to stereotypes and
products that would be fulfilling false
stereotypes.
Yes, we often use multiple ones every day
however, looking at only one at a time can lead
to seeing a muted view of what is happening.
Yes, you have to, because nothing is ever
direct, you always have to read between the lines
to get the entire message.
Yes, but it may be overwhelming if you do it all
the time. I do think we do it a lot without
knowing it.
Yes, in a complex world where groups and
individuals are vying for power, it is important
to analyze the interests of the creators of media
that form culture.
35
Deborah ApplemanCarleton College dapplema_at_carleto
n.edu Handouts for this presentation can be
accessed athttp//www.acad.carleton.edu/curricula
r/educ/faculty/Appleman/index.html