A Conflict of Paradigms : Social Epistemology and the Collapse of Literary Education

Presenting an examination of the history, theories, and practices in the teaching of English, this work offers insight and practical solutions to the crisis in English education and the conflict among critical theories, classroom practice, epistemics, the pressure to vocationalize the curriculum, and the corporatization of institutes of learning.

A Conflict of Paradigms provides a historical analysis of literary education following the trend of radical pedagogy introduced in the 1980s. Rebecca K. Webb thoroughly sets the ground for debate by focusing equally on the advocates of radical pedagogy and the setbacks encountered in practice. Higher education has encountered a crisis as the humanitarian ideology of a liberal education conflicts with the corporatization of the University. Presenting theory with great clarity, Webb fully addresses many problems and contradictions faced in today''s classroom, including the emphasis on teaching skills related to the professional world rather than critical thinking and the institutionalization of Romantic individualism in the humanities curriculum. Thorough and controversial, A Conflict of Paradigms is essential reading for educators and students of education, cultural studies, and English literature.