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'In 1984 John Docker published a very funny account of the division between Leavisites and New Critics in the English departments at Melbourne and Sydney universities. The title of his book, In a Critical Condition: Reading Australian Literature seemed to hint that Australian literature was on its deathbed. But, in fact, participants in debates about teaching Australian literatures have tended to take for granted that the study of literature itself is an essential part of a secondary school education, and a legitimate part of a tertiary education for those wishing to become teachers; the debate arises from different ideas about what should be taught and how. The title of this essay, however, hints at a new level of concern about the state of teaching of Australian literatures. This concern arises from the fact that schools and universities have been shaped by dramatically intensified demands that outcomes be quantified, and quality evaluated. It is the premise of this essay that these demands have had, and will have, a far greater effect on the teaching of literature than disciplinary debates in literary studies, broadly conceived. Thus, this essay seeks to move work and workplace cultures to the centre of the discussion.' (Authors' introduction, 246)
Notes
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Epigraph: When the numbers acquire the significance of language, they acquire the power to do all of the things which language can do: to become fiction and drama and poetry.
I wonder if we haven't become so numbed by all these numbers that we are no longer capable of truly assimilating any knowledge which might result from them.
(Both comments are by Bill James, whose work inspired the story told in Michael Lewis's Moneyball (2004, p. 67; p. 95))
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Last amended 28 Mar 2012 15:15:32
246-265
In a (New) Critical Condition : Accounting for Australian Literatures
Subjects:
- In a Critical Condition : Reading Australian Literature 1984 single work criticism
- Telling Stories : Australian Literature in a National English Curriculum 2008 single work criticism
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