Christine Wilby, Professor, Cornerstone College, J.F. Oberlin University

Abstract

Recently Japanese universities tend to focus practical subjects considered useful for employment. This trend has led to a down sizing of literary studies that foster overall education and development, and to the prevalence of English studies programs focusing either ‘qualifications’ (TOEIC TOEFL), conversation, or simple academic English.

It is my contention that studying literature in English is not only within the reach of EFL students, but also vital for them in our continually globalizing world: literature offers students a dynamic contact with the peoples of the world, past and present, and from these encounters they can construct their opinions relevant and relative to the world, to their own cultures, and to themselves. My particular interest is the study of postcolonial literatures, and in this presentation I will outline several positive ideas for implementation in English studies. I will highlight my presentation with examples from the works of Janet Frame, one of New Zealand’s most celebrated writers, make reference to the works of Ashcroft et. al, Fairclough, and Fisher, in the areas of post-colonial literatures, critical discourse analysis and interpretative communities, and to the works of the major proponents of post-structuralism, and intertextuality, Derrida, Foucault and Kristeva.

Biographical Data

Christine Wilby is from New Zealand, but has been living and working in Japan for many decades. She holds a Ph.D. in the field of discourse in society and presently teaches psycholinguistics and related subjects at J.F. Oberlin University. She sees studies in post-colonial literature as an excellent and exciting way to engage students in the issues of globalization and language, specifically issues of marginality and identity. To this end, she has done extensive studies on the works of NZ writer Janet Frame to whom she will refer in her presentation.