Implacing L1 English in the Anthropocene
Submitted by:
Terry J. Locke
Abstract:
Philosopher of place, Edward Casey (1993), insists that: “To exist at all...is to have a place – to be implaced....To be is to be in place” (pp. 13-4). The starting point for this paper is that L1 English curriculums and programmes have their own being in relation to certain places: as locations, as materially composed and as subjectively constructed. In this respect the focus is ontological, and less concerned with analysing a particular curriculum in relation to theorised paradigms of the subject discursively constructed, e.g. cultural heritage, personal growth, critical literacy, rhetorical or textual compentence (e.g. Locke, 2007; Locke, 2015). Drawing on the concept of sense of place, I ask the question: What does it mean to implace L1 English in the Anthropocene? In the first instance , this means acknowledging the climate crisis and committing broadly to support efforts to raise awareness of its causes and remedies. Secondly, building on the seminal work of Gruenewald (2003) and others it constructs all sites of learning (schools, universities) as places and connected in various ways to networks of places, all of which have something to teach us. Thirdly, it calls for a rethinking of L1 English as a school subject and its relationship with other subjects. My main focus will be to share some ideas on the reconstruction of L1 English for these troubled times in terms of its aims, content, pedagogy and cross-disciplinary relationships.
References:
Casey, E. S. (2009). Getting back into place: Toward a renewed understanding of the place-world (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Gruenewald, D. (2003). Foundations of place: A multidisciplinary framework for place-conscious education. American Educational Research Journal, 40(3), 619–654
Locke, T. (2007). Constructing English in New Zealand: A report on a decade of reform. L1 – Educational studies in language and literature, 7(2), 5-33.
Locke, T. (2015). Developing writing teachers: Practical Ways for Teacher-Writers to Transform their Classroom Practice. New York, NY: Routledge.