The call of ambiguity: lingering over uncertainty as classroom practice

Abstract

Purpose This paper encourages teachers and scholars of English Language Arts to engage deliberately with literary ambiguity. Design/methodology/approach Through close attention to ambiguous moments in commonly taught texts, the essay argues that explicit attention to ambiguity can support four enduring goals in the field: fostering social justice, developing students’ personal growth, cultivating dispositions and skills for democracy and engendering disciplinary literacy skills. Findings The readings suggest the following: first, wrestling with ambiguities in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird may foster critical orientations needed in the fight for social justice; second, ambiguities in Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese may support students’ personal development; third, questions generated by Walter Dean Myers’ Monster invite readers to practice skills needed for democracy; finally, exploring divergent interpretations of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak may develop students’ disciplinary literacy skills. Originality/value In an era marked by standardization and accountability, it may be difficult for teachers and scholars to linger with literary ambiguity. By underscoring the instrumental potential of literary ambiguity, the essay illustrates why and how teachers might reject this status quo and embrace the indeterminacy of literary ambiguity.

For concurrent enrollment, collaboration, not alignment, is the better story

“…Again, a few examples: during CE workshops in my program, high school instructors are eager for strategies that help promote engaged in-class discussion that value and hold space for ambiguity in literary text (McKenzie and Bender, 2021), but on-campus faculty are interested in the same – and everyone can find value in sharing what works for them or in reflecting on how their forms of questioning (Levine et al , 2022) and uptake (Ford-Connors and Robertson, 2017) in class either reinforce the teacher’s interpretive authority over the text or make space for student-driven inquiry. CE instructors are also interested in what forms of writing are required of students in Introduction to Literature, and in how much instruction of writing is built into the course.…”