Lennard J. Davis has an awesome article in The Chronicle about the dilemma of teaching Josef Conrad's The Heart of Darkness (1902).
Conrad's literary value and his commendably anti imperialist impulses have for decades been overshadowed by his consistently racist approach to character depiction and definition. There is some debate over whether his use of racism was ironic rather than considered, but students, especially students of color, have in my experience been offended+intimidated+appalled by Conrad's provocative racist outlook--for instance, his casual use of the word "nigger," long after the word was considered impolite in British civil society.
Prof. Davis makes several interesting points and the learning-teaching history he associates with The Heart of Darkness alone makes it a compelling academic artefact.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
puppy condo rules
Although I don't spend much time in there, our puppy "condo" is one of my favorite spaces. Max and Huckie dislike being in the...
-
Friends and old neighbors shutting it down in honor of John Crawford. _
-
At had us pose for this pic up at Aunt R's place on Lake Huron so he could put it up in his dorm. "Don't tur... -
I have the feeling that I’m going to succumb to the season and put out a list of resolutions soon. Just wanted to establish this heads up th...
No comments:
Post a Comment