Good talk. In my view the humanities and literature are where human struggle is fought, recorded, and either preserved or buried, which is why what gets canonized and what gets suppressed determines the quality of human life itself.
I have a long post on this coming out soon that hinges on the unacknowledged literary Big Bang of the American novel - even the Americas novel - (and somewhat world novel) in 1929-1930.
Such a fascinating conversation. While much of what y'all discussed is outside of my purview, I can't help but wonder how much the current literacy crisis would be ameliorated if K-5 teachers were tasked with the great responsibility of ushering young students into the rich traditions of the humanities. As a teacher, I very much take my job as protector of the humanities seriously. There is a sanctity of literature that is lost when the goal becomes dissecting texts and answering questions.
Good talk. In my view the humanities and literature are where human struggle is fought, recorded, and either preserved or buried, which is why what gets canonized and what gets suppressed determines the quality of human life itself.
I have a long post on this coming out soon that hinges on the unacknowledged literary Big Bang of the American novel - even the Americas novel - (and somewhat world novel) in 1929-1930.
Such a fascinating conversation. While much of what y'all discussed is outside of my purview, I can't help but wonder how much the current literacy crisis would be ameliorated if K-5 teachers were tasked with the great responsibility of ushering young students into the rich traditions of the humanities. As a teacher, I very much take my job as protector of the humanities seriously. There is a sanctity of literature that is lost when the goal becomes dissecting texts and answering questions.