Journal of Literary Education is a refereed, peer reviewed, electronic journal for those interested in the study and development of Literary Education. Its readership comprises practitioners, teacher educators, librarians, researchers and both undergraduate and graduate students. Journal of Literary Education offers educators a forum for debate about this discipline from a broad perspective. General issues and special issues are published.

CFP Critical Pedagogy in Literary Education

Critical Pedagogy in Literary Education emphasizes critical thinking, social justice, and empowerment through the study of literature. With its roots in the work of Paulo Freire, the visionary Brazilian educator, it has evolved and flourished in various areas within the broader field of education.

According to Johnson and Freedman (2006, 16), "when teachers decide to embrace critical pedagogy, they are choosing to adopt a questioning stance in their classrooms." Critical pedagogy advocates for the teaching of skills and strategies necessary to develop a critical/questioning attitude toward texts and the world. By addressing issues of social power, oppression, and aspects of class, race, and gender, critical pedagogy promotes student practices that foster active and engaged reading. Students are encouraged to seek meaning and question the ideologies inherent in the texts they read, standing outside the textually or professionally inscribed reading position to offer new interpretive perspectives.

In the context of teaching literature, critical pedagogy involves analyzing texts not only for their literary qualities but also for their social, cultural, and political implications. It encourages students to question and critique dominant narratives in literature, as well as the power dynamics embedded within them.

Key components of critical pedagogy in teaching literature include:

1. Interrogating Power Structures: Critical pedagogy prompts students to examine how power operates within literary texts, considering how certain voices are privileged or marginalized.

2. Promoting Critical Thinking: Students are urged to analyze texts from multiple perspectives, taking into account how social, historical, and cultural factors shape meaning.

3. Fostering Empowerment: Critical pedagogy aims to empower students to become active agents in their learning and in society. This involves encouraging them to voice their interpretations and perspectives, even if they diverge from traditional readings.

4. Connecting Literature to Social Justice: Critical pedagogy often seeks to link literary study with broader social justice issues, prompting students to explore themes such as inequality, discrimination, and resistance within texts.

5. Engaging in Dialogue: Critical pedagogy values dialogue and discussion as essential components of learning. Teachers facilitate conversations that encourage students to challenge assumptions, ask questions, and engage with diverse viewpoints.

Overall, critical pedagogy in teaching literature aims to cultivate critical consciousness, empathy, and a sense of social responsibility among students, empowering them to become active participants in shaping a more just and equitable society. We invite papers related to the overall theme of the issue as described above. Potential research areas include, but are not restricted to:

• Changing the Word and the World through Literature.
• The Resisting Reader in the Literary Classroom.
• Educating the Oppressed Today.
• Reader-Response theories in the light of Critical Pedagogy.
• ‘Creation plus Critique’ in Literature Teaching.
• Exploring issues of oppression and social justice through Literature.
• Interrogating texts.
• Critical Pedagogy and the empowerment of the Reader.

Submissions are welcome throughout the year, but articles submitted before the 30th of May will receive priority consideration for this year's issue. The journal accepts submissions in multiple languages. Please review the author's guidelines before submitting your articles for consideration .

Submissions: https://ojs.uv.es/index.php/JLE/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions

Author’s guidelines:

https://ojs.uv.es/index.php/JLE/about/submissions#authorGuidelines

Selected Bibliography

Beach, R., Appleman, D., Fecho, B., & Simon, R. (2022). Teaching literature to adolescents. Routledge.

Freire, P. & Macedo, D.(1987). Literacy. Reading the Word and the World. Routledge

Monchinski, T. (2008). Critical  Pedagogy and the Everyday Classroom.  Springer.

Morrell, E. and  Morrell, J. (2024). Freire and Children's Literature. Bloomsbury.

Rabinovitz, P.J. and Smith M.W(1988). Authorizing Readers. Resistance and Respect in the Teaching of Literature. Teachers College Press/Urbana, IL. National Council of Teachers of English.

Shor, I. (1987). Critical Teaching and Everyday Life. University of Chicago Press.

Wilhelm, J.D.(2008). “You gotta be the book”. Teaching Engaged and Reflective Reading to Adolescents. Teachers College Press.

Tzina Kalogirou & Xavier Mínguez-López