Reading for social justice

Following on a theme I touched on last week, I would like to share my appreciation for post-colonial literature. I believe that post-colonial literature works much to give voice to people of the underclasses and to people who have been silenced by colonial rule. Furthermore, post-colonial texts work to challenge the status-quo, which I believe is an important part of any literary study.

As future teachers, we should use texts that ask our students to question certain elements of our society. This is part of what makes studying post-colonial texts so important. While discussing themes within a text, we can easily start to apply these themes to a real world situation. Literature has the ability to change the way people view there world. It provides the reader an opportunity to walk in someone else shoes. From this perspective, we are able to use literature as a devise to challenge power in our society.

In the post-colonial era, literature has become an instrument of societal change. We no longer share stories solely for entertainment purposes. Although a great story is always entertaining, post-colonial literature challenges the reader to recognize the topics addressed in a real world setting. As we look for deeper reading, it becomes evident when examine literature with a post-colonial lens. It is easy for our students to answer the question “why are we reading this”.

Since entering the College of Education and being introduced to teaching for social justice, I see studying post-colonial literature as the perfect way to this. After reading and examining the story critically with emphasis on post-colonial issues, the opportunities to tie the themes of the story into a social justice lesson become evident. This is why I enjoy using the post-colonial critical perspective.