Using Pedagogical Stylistics to Teach World Literature in English in Italian Upper Secondary Schools: Going Beyond Traditional English Literature Syllabi

This paper aims to offer some examples of and reflections on how teachers can go beyond the traditional pedagogy of English literature used in Italian secondary schools (licei) in order to provide students with a wider view of World Literature in English (WLE). Since one of the main tasks of schooling is to teach students how to “go beyond” limits, it is essential in our globalised world to teach the young how to reach that ‘farther side’ of literature, language and culture represented by those writers who have hitherto been ignored by school syllabi. In Italy, English literature is essentially centred on British authors and such a frame provides a very partial overview of the reality of Englishspeaking countries and their literary production. This redesigned syllabus and pedagogical approach should provide students with a cosmopolitan overview of the various English-speaking literatures, with the objective of educating teenagers to be open to expressions of pluralism. Insisting on pedagogical innovation is fundamental, as any real change should start from what is commonly considered one of the pillars of any society, that is to say education. What is learnt at school and the experience gained from the long years of attendance are surely crucial for each of us, therefore it should be of paramount importance to carefully think over the content that should be delivered to students and the methods used to deliver it. As to the current situation regarding the pedagogy of English literature in Italian licei, what is usually dealt with in class is mainly British literature. Therefore, the parallel subliminal message which is transmitted is that only literature by British writers is worthy of the name “English literature” and that the only country which deserves to be represented and studied is the UK. This paper will also show how using the stylistic approach as a method for analysing literary excerpts in class is a valid tool to provide students with a more solid linguistic awareness, which can enable them to use the English language in a wide range of registers and situations. Using pedagogical stylistics to approach a literary text in upper secondary schools in Italy can be considered innovative, just as tackling WLE texts. The objective of this paper is to show how stylistics can be employed as a valid tool putting canonical passages of the secondary school English literature syllabus into dialogue with WLE excerpts