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Sitting Still and Reading: Rethinking the Role of Literary Fiction in Civics Education
Author(s) -
Schultz Annie
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
educational theory
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1741-5446
pISSN - 0013-2004
DOI - 10.1111/edth.12415
Subject(s) - civics , narrative , sociology , politics , contemplation , resistance (ecology) , aesthetics , existentialism , consciousness , reading (process) , representation (politics) , literature , pedagogy , epistemology , law , philosophy , political science , art , ecology , biology
In this article Annie Schultz argues that engaging with narratives of resistance and empowerment in literary fiction makes for an important addition to the practice of political education. She is interested, in particular, in what can be gained from the thoughtful contemplation modeled by the inner monologues of literary narrators. Many writers of fiction have turned the inner lives of oppressed characters outward in order for readers to glimpse depictions of moral injustices that mirror those of the real world. Using Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man as an example of a literary representation of an existential journey to political consciousness, Schultz explores the imaginative implementation of literature in politically engaged pedagogy that, she argues, results in the development of conscious, articulate citizens.