Essay: To Teach or not to Teach Literature by Himansu S. Mohapatra

In this essay, Himansu S. Mohapatra analyses the discontents of literature as it is currently studied and taught and how to redress these.

From English to Literature

On a pleasant autumn day in 2018, lit up by the last glow of an Indian summer, I was visiting University of East Anglia (UEA). I had not returned to it since taking my doctorate degree in 1989. After getting off the train I took a bus to UEA. The bus entered the campus from the Bluebell Road and dropped me at the roundabout. I took the walkway that skirted round the quad, and, as I turned right, the unbroken zigzagging grey building came into view.

My school, English and American Studies, used to be housed in the first section of the building. I quickly sprinted up the steps and let myself into the foyer through the double doors. Here was the reassuring sign on the wall opposite I was looking for: EAS. The writing on the plaque, however, said something new: LDC. I asked someone walking by if the School of English and American Studies had moved to some other site. The young man, probably an undergrad, said that the school was still there, but that it had undergone a name change and was now called the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing, LDC. The name change had taken site a few years ago.