Introduction: Literature as Academic Discipline During Hard Times

Abstract

Until the middle of the last century, the study of literature in secondary education was the privilege of an elite. Since then, as part of the core secondary curriculum, it has become virtually universal. The general education status of literary pedagogy raises the questions of whether literature should be taught to a general audience, and if so, how? Are utilitarian goals necessary to justify literary study at the secondary level, or is “literariness” the only legitimate foundation of the discipline? Throughout the last 150 years, France has been at the forefront of these discussions and has much to teach the rest of the world as it struggles to define the goals and methods of literature in secondary education.