Intersectionality in Classroom Literature
Literature is historically an art for the white and for the elite. Unfortunately, this seems to be the case in current times as well. Students in both high schools as well as colleges and universities across the United States that are enrolled in English programs are predominantly white. Not only are they mostly white, but humanities programs in general are disproportionately white, more so than any other major. In 2017, 59,230 English degrees were awarded to students in the United States (Data USA), and 38,247 of these graduates were white — about 65%. This is no coincidence, and it seems to begin in high school or even middle school classrooms, where the literature that is taught and believed to be highest in intellectual value is extremely white and extremely lacking in intersectionality. While this goes unnoticed or at least undisputed by most white, cishet students, it can leave others feeling disconnected from their English courses from the very beginning of their academic career, resulting in universities with humanities majors lacking in diversity and intersectionality.
It is no secret that young women striving to study STEM subjects come in disproportionately lower numbers than young men; adding onto this imbalance, young women of color are even less likely to go into STEM subjects. This problem only deepens when we see that people of color — specifically black people — of all genders come in very small percentages in the humanities, specifically in English and literature majors. A study performed by the University of Maryland showed that the percentages of students enrolled in humanities subjects varied dramatically when it came to race and also had a gendered correlation. Regardless of race, females occupy humanities majors in higher percentages than males. The widest gap in demographic was between white and black students, with black students enrolling in humanities majors at much lower percentages than white students. The number of Hispanic males and females enrolled was lower than white students, but still remained comparable while Asian students were much lower, although not as low as black students (Dickson).
According to the Association of Departments of English, 61% of English departments that offer PhD programs have a diversity requirement (ADE). However, this requirement can vary drastically, with some institutions requiring only African American literature to meet this requirement, and others including African American literature, literature by women, wide varieties of races and ethnicities, disability, indigeneity, sexuality, etc. While it would be difficult for every English department to encapsulate all literary voices that have been marginalized or ignored, it is important to move beyond canonical texts in order to hear these voices. And not only hear these voices, but not talk over them or try to explain for them. Additionally, we need to implement these diversity requirements much earlier in students’ academic careers, introducing diverse texts as early as middle school. Teaching only canonical works in middle and high school will not give students the full scope of the literary world, therefore turning many students off from an academic career in English or literature.
When literature is studied at a middle and high school level, it is extremely important for students to be able to relate to the characters in the texts. And not only relate to their mindsets, beliefs, goals, and thought processes, but also feel represented in other facets. Students of color, LGBTQ+ students, students that come from lower-class backgrounds, and students who come from religious and spiritual beliefs other than Christianity are very rarely represented in literature typically taught at these levels. Not only can this further ostracize marginalized young adults, but it could turn them off from literature and education in general. It should seem obvious from the University of Maryland study results that young people of color are being turned off from the humanities at some point in middle or high school, making them choose other subjects to study in college. When teachers focus so deeply on canonical works of literature in their classrooms, marginalized students are not given the opportunity to feel seen or represented by these subjects, which does not allow literature to feel like a safe space for them to occupy.
When we delve into what exact novels are the most commonly read among middle and high school students, it should seem obvious that most of these texts focus on white protagonists, with rather privileged conflicts or romanticized versions of their struggles. Novels such as Lord of the Flies, The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter, Catcher in the Rye, Of Mice and Men, and any Shakespeare text are read and taught in nearly every American high school, yet all relate to the same demographic. When black protagonists are taught in English classes, it seems that they are usually taught in a historical context rather than as a character like any other but who happens to be black. These texts are usually tied into a unit specifically on the Civil War or on the Civil Rights era, and books such as Beloved, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, To Kill a Mockingbird, or The Color Purple tend to be the only novels taught with black protagonists.
While these novels are all incredible and important pieces, students deserve to feel represented in literature other than novels about slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation. Of course we need to inform our youth about said topics, but we need to do so while also providing our students with more intersectionality and well-rounded texts. Perhaps shortening these units and teaching excerpts rather than full novels, and adding topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement and modern novels written by people of color to the curriculum would enhance many students’ learning as well as allow them to have more of an appreciation for literature and the humanities.
Gender is a much more forgiving topic in literature; it is now a popular topic of discussion in all high school humanities courses. Female protagonists are not hard to come by even in canonical works, and women’s issues are addressed in several of these works. However, gender defined as binary is the overwhelming norm in the educational program, and even universities struggle to be intersectional when it comes to gender identity that is non binary. The same could be said regarding sexual orientation and sexuality that breaks the heterosexual norm. Even in canonical works, readers are free to interpret characters’ sexual orientations and romantic interests as they wish if these topics are not addressed as concrete in the text.
There has been an increase in the number of LGBTQ+ characters in many young adult novels. There is a downside of these recent developments, however. Most characters that are depicted as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender are almost always white and almost always from a middle or upper class household. And most common seems to be the cisgender gay white male as the protagonist of these novels. While of course people like this exist and should be represented, a more diverse and intersectional approach can be taken when it comes to LGBTQ+ novels for young adults so that more young people feel seen and welcome in the LGBTQ+ community as well as the literary world.
Not only do we want our students to feel comfortable and seen in each and every classroom from the very start of their academic career, as well as welcome in any major offered on college campuses, we also want diversity in every field. The arts and humanities especially need diversity and intersectionality in order to be relevant to the times and serve as a historical record of different facets of society and culture. If the only people creating art are cishet, white elites then we end up with not only an inaccurate representation of society, but also an unfair one.
Bibliography
Association of Departments of English. “A Changing Major: The Report of the 2016–17 ADE Ad Hoc Committee of the English Major.” 2018, https://www.ade.mla.org/content/download/98513/2276619/A-Changing-Major.pdf
Celis, Karen, Eline Severs, and Silvia Erzeel. “Power, privilege and disadvantage: Intersectionality theory and political representation.” Politics, vol. 36, no. 4, 2016, http://dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=118812819&site=ehost-live
Data USA. English Majors, 2017, https://datausa.io/profile/cip/english#demographics
Dickson, Lisa. “Race and Gender Differences in College Major Choice.” University of Maryland Department of Economics, 2014, https://theop.princeton.edu/reports/forthcoming/ANNALS_07_Dickson_Manuscript_June2009.pdf
Spencer, Leland and Androne, Helane. “Intersectionality in the Classroom: Black Lives Matter as a Consummate Example.” Journal of Pan African Studies, vol. 12, no. 9, 2019, http://dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=136141386&site=ehost-live
Walsh, Amy and Knezevic, Barbara. “Femagogical strategies in the art school: navigating the institution.” Journal of Visual Art Practice, vol. 19, no. 1, 2020, http://dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=142382426&site=ehost-live
