“Literature and the Public Sphere: Connecting Classroom and Community”
The focus of this session (sponsored by the Forum on the Teaching of Literature) is on the interconnections, both actual and possible, between what we teach in the literature classroom and the world beyond that classroom. This can mean looking at literature that engages public events/ideas/issues, as well as exploring the ways literature can be a venue/catalyst for public engagement, helping students discover connections to the/a larger community. Rather than just another “what the humanities can do” session, we are looking for papers that examine the ways literature can be instrumental in fostering and understanding public engagement. Topics might include:
Literature and/of public events
Literature and war/trauma
Literature and the civic
Literature and/for social change
Literature as interaction/intervention
Literature and/about political, religious, scientific, international, commercial, medical, legal, or other social institutions, history, and everyday life
