Recalling the Moral Force of Literature in Education

Authors

  • John Willinsky University of Calgary

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11575/jet.v22i2.44218

Abstract

In light of the continuing challenges which schools and libraries face from those who would restrict on moral grounds the literary fare of the young, I thought it helpful to recall the original arguments in public education for making literature a mainstay, arguments which hinged on literature's ability to form the soul, to restore a lost community and 10 foster the state. Rather than treat these as simply antiquated, I argue that there are elements within the work of Mathew Arnold, F.R. Leavis and Louise Rosenblatt which can form the basis of a renewed defence of the moral and educational value of literature in both its aesthetic and testimonial aspects.

Published

2018-05-16

Issue

Section

Articles