The Law in English Literature: The Pedagogy of Legal Context and Advancing Gender Equality in the Teaching of Secondary English in the 21st Century
Principal Supervisor: Dr Joy Wallace
Co-Supervisor: Dr Lachlan Brown
Co-Supervisor: Dr Kiprono Langat
There is ongoing debate surrounding the texts mandated or recommended in English curricula across Australia. My research argues that while there is a need for greater diversity of texts studied in secondary English classrooms, canonical texts remain highly relevant. They provide a window on the past, an insight into who we are as a society today, and a signpost for who we may become tomorrow. However, the way we currently teach these texts requires re-examination. Educators need to reveal the deeply engaging, socially relevant, and ethically provoking elements of these texts to re-engage our young citizens.
My research explores the pedagogical potential of applying the Law and Literature Movement to the teaching of canonical texts to students of secondary English. Its aim is to address certain pedagogical concerns regarding canonical literature, while increasing literacy and classroom engagement and promoting discussions around gender equality. While teaching programmes often include brief time allocations for the social, historical, and political contexts of texts, my research investigates the gender biased laws underlying the plots of several canonical texts and what these reveal about gender constructs at the time of publication and their ongoing influences. By teaching the human context of characters, their expected and actual behaviours, the social norms operating around them and their outcomes, canonical texts can be taught as a highly relevant point on a spectrum of social change.
Having already completed my Bachelor of Arts (Communications) and Bachelor of Secondary Teaching through CSU, I felt confident that CSU would provide me with world-class research opportunities and supervisors, while understanding my situation as a part time external researcher in rural NSW. CSU’s online platform, library and mentoring programs have been invaluable in assisting me to complete my research while working full time as an English teacher.