Eaglestone, Robert (2000). Doing English: A Guide for Literature Students. Routledge: London. ISBN 0-415-19136-X.
Written by a lecturer in English at the University of London, Doing English was produced specifically for students commencing undergraduate studies in English Literature at British universities. Its aim is ‘to bridge the often daunting gap between traditional approaches to literature, still dominant in [British] schools and the new world of literary theory which dominates university English.’
Although English teachers are not the target audience for this book, they will find it an invaluable resource. Here in Australia, schools are less locked into traditional approaches to literature than British schools apparently are, and contemporary literary theories are given greater recognition in official syllabuses. But many teachers are still struggling to come to grips with these theories and often find it difficult to align them with the ‘common sense’ understandings of literature they learnt at school.
Doing English outlines the development of English as a subject since the nineteenth century and charts the changes in thinking about English in a succinct, accessible manner. It is refreshingly free of the jargon, polysyllabic vocabulary and convoluted syntax that characterise many works on literary theory. It explains abstract ideas in concrete terms and one is left feeling that what had previously seemed to be strange, obtuse approaches to literature actually make a lot of sense.
This book is useful not just for teachers of literature in the senior secondary years, but all English teachers. If you read only one book about English teaching this year, make it this one. To buy a copy of Doing English in Australia click on the image below.