Why Teach Literature?

Author(s): Norval P. Barksdale

Source: The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Nov., 1940), pp. 113-119
Published by: Wiley on behalf of the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations
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 Why Teach Literature?
NORVALP. BARKSDALE
Lincoln University, City,Missouri
Jefferson
(Author's
summary.-A widerappealcan be madebystressing lessexclusively
literature and
thewholefieldofforeign
culturemoresharply.)

PRACTICALLY every college and Universityin the countryrequires

that at least its liberal arts graduates have eithera certainnumberof
hourscreditin, or a readingknowledge,satisfactory to the departmentcon-
cerned,of at least one modernforeignlanguage. Likewise almost every
graduateschoolrequiresa readingknowledgeof Frenchand Germanof all
candidatesforthe degreeofDoctor ofPhilosophy.It would seem thenthat
in view of our large college and universityenrollmentAmericais fast be-
cominga bi- or tri-lingualcountry.Such, however,is far frombeing the
case, as we all know. Indeed we are oftenhard put to discoverany wide-
spread, tangibleresultsof modernlanguage instructionin our schools.
I am fullyaware of the many generalvalues whichmightbe derived
fromthe study of practicallyany subject which we mightname. These
supposedvalues runthe gamutfrommentaldisciplineto generalculture.I
realize full well also that very oftenthe studies and subjects whichhave
most influencedour lives work theirwondersunsuspectedeven by us, so
thatit is indeedrash to pass judgmenton thepragmaticvalue ofany given
subject.Yet witheven thisreservationit stillseemsthatgenerallyspeaking
our language instructionfalls far shortof achievingeitherits aims or its
possibilities.
A languageis of use, I thinkwe will admit,onlyto the extentthat it is
used. Certain subjects mightbe consideredends in themselves.The lan-
guages,however,are primarilytools,meansto an end,and are ends onlyper-
haps to thephilologist.To thegreatmassesofpeople,however,theyare of
value only to the extentthat theyare used in some manneror other,and
our thousandsofstudentsof the foreignlanguagesare not usingthemany-
thinglike the extentthat we should like to see obtain, and whichwe are
able to bringabout, I believe.
From time to time some one makes a "study" to ascertainwhat our
studentsdo withthe languageswhichtheystudiedin school. We all know
the answers:Some fewhave used themin travel,othersin business,some
othersin researchprojects,while still othershave used themforpersonal
growthand culture.On paper all thislooksgood,and we mightassume that
we are doing a creditablepiece of work,but are we? Lacking objective
measurementsofuse ofthelanguage,we mustaccept the subjectiveevalua-
tion of the student.Many of thosewho answerfeelthat theyare usingthe
language for"cultural" purposesif,upon rare occasions,theyread again a
copy ofsome school textor glance over a foreignmagazinein a citylibrary
113

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114 NORVAL P. BARKSDALE

once in a while.This, ofcourse,is something,albeit little.In a tangibleand

consequentialway,however,is thissufficient use of the languageto justify
one's sayingthat he is usingit forculturalgrowthand pleasure?
Suppose we wereto ask: "What French,or German,periodicalsdo you
read regularly?"or "in the preparationof talks or papers, or in following
certaineventsand movements,to whichbooks and periodicalsin the for-
eign tonguehave you had recourse?"What do you thinkthe answerwould
be? Rather discouragingI am sure, because such questions asked even
whilethestudentis stillin schoolwouldelicitanswersdiscouragingto most
teachers.I thinkthatI am safein assertingthatlanguageteachersgenerally
agreethatlanguageteachingis farfrombeingas efficacious as it shouldbe,
or as we can make it.
Wherenow shall we put the blame forour inefficacy in mattersof lan-
guage teaching as demonstrated by the utter indifference of our students
to the foreignlanguages in after-schoollife? We must put it in several
places: we must put it on the Americanpublic school systemwhich has
largelyabolishedthe teachingof formalgrammar,and thus sends the stu-
dentsout devoidofall grammarsense,and a grammaticalterminology, and
therebycondemningmany to flounder in the morass ofincomprehension in
matterslinguisticin view ofprevalentteachinghabits,and soon to become
disgustedwiththeirlanguage studybeforemakingany appreciablehead-
wayin it; we mustput theblame on theutilitariancomplexoftheAmerican
generalpublic whichis indifferent to things,the value of whichcannot be
measuredin dollars and cents-at least potentially;finallywe must put
the blame on the language departmentsthemselves,because of theirmis-
representation (herea sin ofomission)ofthevalue ofthelanguages.
Thousands of studentspass throughthe language departmentsof our
collegesand universities.It is there,and only there,that we have an op-
portunityto at least attemptto shape theirattitudestoward the foreign
tongue.The respectwhichtheyhave forthe language and theirapprecia-
tion of it as a tool forintellectualand culturalpurposesare going to be
formedthere.I speak here of the thousandsof serious-minded, competent
studentswho are going to continuetheirstudies and intellectualgrowth
eitherin thegraduateschoolsor voluntarilyin theirpost-scholastic life.We
shall ignorethe thousandswho shouldhave neverenrolledin any modern
languagecourseunderpresentteachingconditions.
What do we do withthesethousandsof capable studentswho come to
us? First of all we startout on the assumptionthat theyare comingto us
to be developedinto litterateurs. We ignorenot onlythe multiplicityof in-
terests,charactersand hopes there enrolled,but we ignorelikewisethefact
thatmany ofthem are therenot oftheir ownfreewill,but because theyare
satisfyingan undergraduaterequirementfirst,a futuregraduate reading
requirementsecond,and are therefore oftentotallyuninterested in thelan-
guage,especiallyat the beginningoftheirworkin it.

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 WHY TEACH LITERATURE? 115
The departmentsof modernlanguages,however,look upon themselves
as existingprimarily,nay exclusively,for teaching the literatureof the
foreigncountry.Their vision does not extend to the manifoldmanifesta-
tionsoftheculturallifeofthecountryapart fromits literature.I knowthat
most schools include some "realia" in theircourses,and that othersoffer
coursesin the civilizationof the foreigncountry,while practicallyall use
the so-calledtriuneapproach to the languages.This is all well and good as
faras it goes,but it does not go farenough.Most ofthe civilizationcourses
worthyof the name are offeredonlyin the junior and senioryears or even
in the graduate classes, that is, afterthe thousandsof studentswho study
a foreignlanguage onlylong enoughto satisfyrequirementshave dropped
it. The great body of foreignlanguage students,however,are precisely
those who would be most benefitedby an introductionto the art, science,
education,morals,industry,geographyand psychologyof the foreignpeo-
ple. And in all logic the acquisition of such an outlook should precede a
majorityof the literaturecoursesratherthanfollow.In the lowercoursesa
readerbased on the above materialis sometimesused, but the extractsor
subjects treated are, I believe, too scrappyto be of any greatvalue other
than linguistic.
Texts of this natureare, however,an indicationof our growingfeeling
that the work of the language departmentsmust cease to be primarily
literaryand linguisticand must tend more and,moreto a richercultural
developmentof the studentbody than is at presentapparentlyenvisaged.
We too oftenforgetthat thereare beforeus prospectivelawyers,doctors,
engineers,economists,physicists,tradesmen-que sais-je, and seem to as-
sume that only budding litterateurs are there.We mustreach more fully,
I believe,thisnon-literary groupalso.
I am not, of course,unmindfulof the fact that in recentyears texts
purportingto do just this thingare appearingon the marketin increasing
numbers.Yet, admirableas they all are, they still fall in the class above
referredto. First of all, the change whichI feelis needed in our teaching
cannot come about by merelyintroducingincidentlyelementarycultural
readersand realia into our courses.New subject mattermust displace lit-
eratureas the pi&cede resistance.What we need is a completereorientation
of our outlook.We mustattemptto integratein a definiteway and much
more fullyour workwith that of the otherdepartments.We must stress
the inter-relationofthe variousfieldsofknowledgeand specificallythe fact
that language study is not an end in itselfbut is merelythe mediumor
stuffofall intellectualendeavor. We mustalso realize thatliteratureitself
is only one and a minorend of language. Because we ourselveshave con-
fusedthe means with the end we have stressedthose thingswhichappeal
to the smallestnumber.As soon as we admit that languageis the medium
not onlyof poetry,the novel,drama and literarycriticism,but also of his-
tory, psychology,sociology, philosophy,geography,ethnology,i.e. of

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116 NORVAL P. BARKSDALE

thoughtin all fields,then the soonerwe could awaken in the great non-
literarymass of students realization of the importanceof the foreign
tongues in whatever field of endeavor they might be interested.At
presentwe make themfeel that the foreignlanguage is useless except to
futureteachersofthe language.
The culturalreaderswhichhave appeared to date are all good, as we
have said, up to a certainlimit.Practicallyall of them,however,withone
or two notable exceptions,are planed to the level of an advanced elemen-
tary school pupil as regardsintellectualcontent.That is, theirvalue is
primarilylinguisticto collegemenand women.FranklyI do not thinkthat
our problemcan be solved merelyby revampingour elementaryantholo-
gies. I do believe,however,that the non-literary anthologyhas its place.
By meansofit we can open up vistas to thepre-medic,thepre-law,the pre-
scientist,as well as thosegoinginto the otherdivisionsof the humanities.
It cannot be done however,with anthologieson the elementaryschool
level. Many collegereadersare insultsto our intelligenceand to that of the
menand womensittingbeforeus.1I feelthatan anthologydestinedforsuch
a groupshouldbe one that would bothopen the students'eyesto thelatent
possibilitiesof the foreigntongue, and respecttheir status of men and
women.I wouldnotpresumehereto draw up a definitivelistofreadingsfor
an anthologysuchas I have in mind.I will,however,list some ofthe types
of readingsthat I feelshouldbe incorporatedin a readerdestinedforthe
maturemen and womenwho sit beforeus in collegeclasses.
The Introductionto Taine's historyof Englishliterature,forexample,
shouldbe a provocativeselectionto show the richfieldstapped by foreign
writersand forintegratinglanguage studywiththat of a numberof other
fields.We could also includea fairlylongpassage fromworkslike Milhaud's
l'Ouvrikreen France; Lalo's, Les SentimentsEsthltiques; Pierre Janet's,
L'Atat Mentaldes Hysteriques;Renan's Qu'est-cequ'une nation?Le Bon's,
Psychologiedu socialisme;Fouillee's Liberteet Dgterminisme; Bourdeau's
Pragmatismeet Modernisme;Fallex et Mairey's La France et ses colonies.
This listis, as I have said, merelysuggestiveand indicative.Passages from
otherfieldsshould be included,of course. Such readingscould be accom-
panied by discussionsof the subject matter,by a short r6sum6by the
teacher,perhaps,ofFrenchprogressin thefieldin questionwhilea majorin
that fieldmightbe asked to give a shortreporton Americantendenciesin
the same field.I believe that by such readingsand discussionswe could
reach a numberof men and womenwho remainindifferent to the fablesof
La Fontaine or the poems of VictorHugo or even the two-pagediscussion
of Frenchrailways.Furthermore we would demonstratemuch more defi-
nitely that the language arts departmentsare more than mere skill-
developing departments. No longer, I believe, would college men and
x Since writingthis the author notes a trendtowardreadersof more seriouslycultural
content.An excellentexampleis Pargment'sGensetChosesde France.

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 WHY TEACH LITERATURE? 117

womenbe so quick to say, "I don't need Frenchbecause I am an English

major," or "I am a psychologymajor." I do not insinuate,of course,that
our teachingis not at presentthought-provoking. It is, however,based pri-
marilyon literaryappreciationas the end of our study,and tends toward
literaryanalysisand criticismin the main.
In such a courseas I have in mindwe wouldhave a goldenopportunity
fora workofintegrationand synthesis,which,ifproperlydeveloped,would
assureus a vital and unquestionablynecessaryplace in theAmericanschool
systemeven withits presentweakeningemphasison the languageartsand
theculturalintangiblesin general.The workwhichwe are doingat present
is, of course,of a natureand value to justifyitself,but we can stillkeep all
thatis good in ourpresentset up and yetexpandour workconsiderablyso
as to enterfieldsat presentignoredby us.
Having been thus introducedin a tangibleway to the foreignwritings
and thoughtin his fieldof interest,the studentwould,I feel,be morein-
clinedto supplementhis studiesin that fieldwithotherreadingsin thefor-
eign language,because he would have been made to realize the potential
value of the foreignlanguagesin his workin a way that he can neverhope
to do at presentundera systemthat stressesliteratureto the almost total
exclusionof othersubjects.A revisedreadingcourselike this,is, however,
onlyone phase oftheplan I have in mind.
Our short-sightedness is shownin our designationof our departmentas
the "Department of French Language and Literature." If we were fully
cognizantof our true aims and possibilitieswe would considerourselves,
effectivelyso, exponentsof French thoughtand culture,with language
beingstressedprimarilyas a meansofunderstanding thatculture,and with
literature,properlyso-called,being assigned the true role whichit really
plays in a nation.
In keepingwiththisconceptionof the role of our departmentsI would
go faras to suggestthat our departmentsbe reorganizedmorealong the
so
lines of a Frenchlycee or college,or at least on a selectionof coursestaken
froma facultedes lettres.We could includein the programof our cultural
centerthe Frenchphase of a numberof subjects taught in the otherde-
partmentsof our universitiesand colleges.
We could introduceinto ourprogramsubjectssuch as The FrenchRevo-
lution,PoliticalThought in France,TheFrenchSchoolSystem,TheGeography
and Commerceof France and Her Colonies,The National and Local Govern-
mentofFrance,to mentiona fewin passing.The English,sociology,political
science,educationor psychologystudentcould pursue coursesrelevantto
his major workor even his generalculturaldevelopmentin the language
departmentfromhisfreshmanto his senioryear.He wouldnotbe restricted
to the studyof literature,but could go into the otherfields.I believe that
manystudentswho now studyFrenchfortwoyearsonlywouldcontinueto
workin the departmentif our offerings were richer.And why should not

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118 NORVAL P. BARKSDALE
Frenchteachersbe the teachersof subjectssuch as The Graphicand Allied
Arts in France or the FrenchEducationalSystem?Because of their rich
backgroundof travel and study in France, their knowledgeof French
geography,folk-waysand mores, and their "French-consciousness"de-
veloped by muchreadingin Frenchliteratureit seemsthat the staffof the
French departmentwould be the logical one to develop courses such as
those mentioned.
Ambassadorsof France, we have permitted,figuratively, militaryand
commercialattaches to usurp our functions.Let us stop toying with
"realia" and "culturalmaterials"and assumeour rightful positionsas true
exponentsof Frenchculture.Until we do this our workas interpreters of
theforeigncountryand as liaison officers fortwo civilizationswillcontinue
to be practicallynil.
Such a revisionof our objectivesand conceptionsas I have here pro-
posed will call fora completere-organization of our departments,and will
demandcertainshiftsin emphasisregardingthetrainingofteacherswhoare
to be assignedto thesecentersofforeignculture.This shouldworkno great
hardshipnorpresentany insurmountable barriers.In as muchas literature
is not a thing,but a certainway of discussingthe problemsand thingsof
life,the true teacherof literaturealreadyhas a comprehensivebreadthof
knowledgeand view. He would thereforeneed only to emphasize certain
ones of the intereststo whichhe has been givinghis attentionalready in
orderto fithimselfdefinitely fora rolein the new centerofforeignculture
such as I envisage.
In preparingforworkin this new centerof foreignculture,literature
would be stressedprimarilyby those who are goingto occupy thereinthe
chairsofliterature.The trainingofthe otherteacherswouldbe muchmore
general.Every teacherin the department,however,mightreasonablybe
expectedto devote his firstyear ofgraduateworkto the languageand lit-
eratureof the foreigncountry.Our prospectiveteachersmightthen take
the licence-es-lettresforexamplefroma Frenchuniversity.It would per-
haps be wellforhimto take thelicencelibrebecause thisdegree-while not
recognizedby thestate as a teaching"licence"in Frenchschools-is a bona
fide state degree withoutrestrictionsregardingthe sequence of courses
taken by the student.The studentis thusable to choose the courseswhich
he feelsare preferableforhis purpose.Of the fourcertificates requiredfor
the licencetwo mightbe in the languageand literatureof France whilethe
othertwo mightbe in the history,geographyor economicsof France.
Afterobtainingthelicenceanotheryearmightbe dividedbetweensay a
school forsocial and juridical studies or a college of economicsand com-
merce,and anotherin a schoolofFrenchcivilizationand culturesuchas the
one conductedby the Sorbonne.The prospectiveteachercould thentake
the Doctoratd' Universit&froma Frenchuniversityor returnto Americato
take his doctorate froman Americanuniversity.This doctorate to be

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 WHY TEACH LITERATURE? 119

grantedforadvanced workpreferably in two or threefieldssuch as the arts

in France, French history,Frenchphilosophy,French commerce,French
financialsystems,etc.,ratherthan forintensiveresearchworkin one field
as at present.Studentswho wish to specializein literaturewould continue
as at present,because our departmentsare especiallywellpreparedforsuch
work, since this has been theirmain objective to date. I do not suggest
curtailmentof this work but only the inclusion of other phases of the
foreignculture.
Creditforthe courses taughtin the centerof French culturecould be
allowed by the various departmentsconcerned,i.e., the departmentsof
history,economics,art, sociology,etc., as well as by the language depart-
ments,dependingupon the student'smajor field.
The writerlooks forwardeagerlyand anxiouslyto the day when we
shall be teachersnot onlyof thelanguagearts but also ofotherof thesocio-
culturalarts as theyconcernthe countryor people ofour interest.No half-
way methodsor palliatives will serve our purpose, because these would
only keep us apologetic and on the defensive,still fightingto justifyour
existence--a conditionbroughtabout by our own failureto firstrecognize
our place ourselves,and then insistingupon it being accorded us. Here
again, however,"Selbst ist der Mann."
And now we shall answerthe questionof the titleby restatingit: "Why
TeachLiterature Exclusively?"

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