The
 7
 Course
 Concepts
Identity
The concept of identity is central our
lives. In the study of the English A
course, you will meet many characters
and voices in the works and texts you
study. Hopefully, exposure to a variety of
perspectives ranged across time and
space will both confirm and challenge
your views of what it is to be human. You
will consider the role of authorship in
writing –that is, how does the identity of a
writer influence their works and texts?
Also, you will think about how your own
identity as a reader shapes your
understanding of works and texts. You
may also consider whether it is
reasonable to think of identity as
something that is fixed and unchanging;
perhaps identity is something that alters
in response to changing circumstances
and contexts.
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Creativity
Creativity is central to the activities of
reading and writing. Writing is, very
obviously, a creative act of imagination.
In reading, too, creativity is required to
interpret and understand a text, and to
explore its range of potential meanings.
Creativity is also relevant to the notion of
originality. You might question whether
originality is a reasonable prerequisite of
reading and writing, and you might
question whether originality is even
possible.
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  © David McIntyre, InThinking
  http://www.thinkib.net/englishalanglit
Culture
Culture is a complex concept. Its
meaning is contested and has been used
to mean different things at different times
and in different places. You may find it
helpful to think about culture as being
about the collective ideas and values we
(more or less) share, and the ways in
which these ideas are communicated. It
is also about our everyday behaviour, as
well as the social practices and rituals we
collectively engage in. In addition, culture
is sometimes discussed in terms of
habits and traditions. And, although we
talk about ‘culture’, we also sometimes
talk about different ‘cultures’. To
understand a text it is important to
understand something of the culture of
the writer and the reader at the time the
text was published. You are also a
reader of texts, and thinking critically
about your own cultural context helps
you recognise why you think and
respond as you do.
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Perspective
The concept of perspective suggests that
works and texts have a range of potential
meanings. The potential can arise, for
example, from the writer’s intentions, a
reader’s bias, and from the time and
place in which a work or text was written.
In the English A course you will be
encouraged to express your
perspectives, motivate them, and be
prepared to have them challenged by
other (different) perspectives. In studying
English, as in many things in life, we
don’t always see things in the same way.
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 Concepts
 

 

 

 

Transformation
The concept of transformation is related
to the idea of ‘intertextuality’. This is a big
word, but the general idea isn’t too hard.
It refers to the sense that meaning
cannot be entirely found in a text.
Instead, meaning is ‘borrowed’ from
other texts. For example, the plot of the
Disney film The Lion King ‘borrows’ from
Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. This is an
example of intertextuality and
transformation. As a reader or viewer of
a text, you may also experience
transformation. Reading a book can, for
example, transform how you think and
behave.
Representation
Representation is about the relationship
between texts and meanings. In a text,
whether literary or non-literary, the
relationship between form, structure, and
meaning is an important concern.
Perspectives differ on the extent to which
language and literature does, can, or
should represent reality. It’s vital to
understand that words and images on a
page are not the same as the things they
represent (e.g. a cartoon drawing of a
baby is not actually a baby). Texts
represent, and are a version of the things
they represent. Other versions are
possible.

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because… I’d also like to say… because… I’d also like to say…
 

Communication
The concept of communication is an
important concern in your English A
course. Writers communicate with
readers, playing with language, style, and
structure to create ideas. Writers write for
different purposes and for different
intended audiences. For this reason, they
alter the ways they use language.
Communication is, however, complex.
Ideas don’t go directly from texts into
readers’ heads. Instead, readers often
understand texts in different ways
because of their own life experiences.
Readers may understand what they think
a writer intends, but they don’t have to
accept or like it.

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  © David McIntyre, InThinking
  http://www.thinkib.net/englishalanglit 2