Recalibrating Pedagogical and Theoretical Ensembles for 21st Century Literary Studies in Asia
Shantini Pillai
National University of Malaysia
Abstract:
The horizon of literary studies in Asia has moved beyond traditional means, especially when one considers that not many literary postgraduates fall back onto the traditional career path of the hallowed hallways of academic scholarship. Many literary programmes, once seen as the precursors of postcolonial resistance and creative trendsetters, appear to be losing their hold, overshadowed by English Language studies, with its vast avenues for proliferation of English language teaching positions. The current state of things calls for what I conceptualise as a recalibration of pedagogical and theoretical ensembles of the literary into 21st Century contexts, while foregrounding an integral Asian stance. Reflecting on close to three decades of a career in literary education at the tertiary level, I trace the trajectories of a host of pedagogical reinventions that have been crucial in emphasizing the validity of literary studies with its multifarious textures in the larger scheme of educational progress in Malaysia. I then proceed to argue for the necessity of rerouting PhD research methodology through foregrounding Asian conceptual metaphors within theoretical ensembles as a crucial instrument of recalibration. The latter is crucial in the wake of rapid internationalisation of education and the alternative pathways for transregional student admissions. Ultimately, overt adjustments are essential if we are to prevent the erosion of literary significance in Asian educational ecologies that increasingly favour STEM.
Shantini Pillai
Shanthini Pillai, PhD., is Associate Professor at the Centre for Research in Language and Linguistics of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, and Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of Ethnic Studies, National University of Malaysia (UKM). Her research interests are anchored primarily in ethnic diversity, diaspora and transnationalism in literary and cultural texts with particular reference to the global South Asian diaspora. An emergent interest is in French-Asian transnational connections in Nineteenth century Malaya. She has held Research Fellowships at the University of Queensland, Australia, the Asia Research Institute, Singapore as well as Université catholique de l’Ouest, France. Her articles have appeared in various high-indexed academic journals including The Australian Journal of Anthropology, International Journal of Cultural Studies, SOJOURN: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, The International Journal of the Sociology of Language and Social Sciences and Missions, among others.
