We Need to Talk About English: On National Literature Surveys and Other Aspects of the Curriculum

Abstract

This essay argues for reevaluating the national literature survey model in the first year of postsecondary English instruction in Norway and considering alternatives that are more ethical, inclusive and innovative than nation-based surveys. In order to make this argument, the essay discusses the problems with literary nationalism and the kinds of political implications involved in teaching literature as restricted by the figure of the nation. The essay also challenges Norwegian higher education to consider the purposes of the English Program within the modern Norwegian university.

Keywords

• national literature survey
• global English literature
• American literature
• literature and pedagogy
• American literature in Norway
• postsecondary literature instruction