English literature and different cultures



English Literature and Different Cultures

Dear Editors,

As Oxford-Russia Fund project participants, we have been involved in the exciting experience of reading modern British literature for a decade already. We are annually exposed to several new books in the project which provide us with material for further discussions, analysis and publications within the framework of the seminar in Perm and then later with our students on our coming back to the universities.

As a rule we are teaching students who major in the English language and Philology. Similarly we have, ourselves, graduated from universities having done a degree in Philology or Linguistics. Moreover judging by the curriculum we most often specialize in Foreign Philology that incorporates British, American, Australian, etc. literature - a width that can be hardly perceived as a drawback of the Russian educational system.

However, an issue of concern is whether our students and we ourselves, having followed a generalized course of 'Literature of the English-speaking Countries' are conscious of the underlying differences in cultures of those countries. Are we and our students able to fully take into account the historical and social background of the literary works we are reading? We normally draw our students' attention to certain lexical, phonetic and grammar variations between British and American English. But do they realize that, for instance, "9/11 fiction" is no part of British experience though the events described there had the world effect? How can we make sure they do? And how shall we teach them to value those contrasting cultures united by more-or-less the same language, and go deeper in their understanding of language, literature, culture and life than just focusing on some superficial trivial things?

Oksana Khrushcheva,

Orenburg State University