Crisis in the Humanities?

U of W conference analyses the future of literary study

Jason Boissonneault

There’s a storm-a-simmerin’ in English faculties across Canada, or, at the very least, at the University of Winnipeg’s.

“Away With Words,” the U of W English Students’ Association’s (UofWESA) first ever undergraduate conference, was held Jan. 27-28 to express undergraduate students’ ideas about the current state of English study. The two-day conference consisted of undergraduate presentations on the first day, and keynote speaker Tanis MacDonald’s address on the “Poetics of Studying” on the second.

“We were interested in creating a forum for discussion about the study of English language and literature, which is often conscious about being about English language or English literature, but rarely about the study of it,” said Susie Taylor, president of the UofWESA.

“We wanted to raise the questions rather than come at [them] with a specific [point of view],” she said.

Highlights of the undergraduate presentations included a debate between presenters Brian Lee and Stephen Whitmore about Lee’s presentation, “Crisis in the Humanities.” In his lecture, Lee argued that literary study, in trying to be “socially relevant” by addressing such ideas as feminist theory, is actually “contributing to the isolation of the discipline.”

The perceived relevance (or irrelevance) of English as an object of study, both by the general public and by those within the discipline, became dominant as the conference progressed.

“I’m having difficulty with literary studies,” admitted Jamie Paris, a current student at the U of W and presenter during the conference.

“My frustration is [that] every single essay, or every time I sit in on a seminar, I get this feeling that this paper will shock or change the world, when in reality we’re dealing with questions of such small influence that no one outside the room really cares.

“It’s uncomfortable when we realize that what we’re doing is essentially [performing] a role of big shot when in reality there is nothing to shoot at,” said Paris.

The topic expanded during the round table discussion, with participants asking why many people are alienated by the study of English despite the sustained popularity of literature, particularly with the example of Oprah’s book club.

“The Oprah book club,” noted Paris, “has become almost a canon in and of itself . . . . I know people who have read Tolstoy because Oprah said read Tolstoy.”

One audience member responded by saying that Oprah is no longer a woman, that without gender or race, she is more like God, which many spectators found amusing.

In her keynote address, Tanis MacDonald, a U of W professor and author of five books of poetry, remained optimistic about the ‘study’ in the study of language.

“To study [implies] a desire, an affection for the material . . . to debate with oneself, in oneself,” she said.

She noted a recent experience that reminded her of the glee she derives from studying English.

“I looked up the definition of “student” and came to these words: . . . ‘Student: a person who is engaged in, or addicted to study.’

“You need a love [for] language, or a frustration with language, which sometimes amounts to the same thing.”