Compairing [sic] a girl to a summers day is gay” – Que(e)rying EFL learners’ engagement with Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 and contemporary YA fiction

Bibliographic Data

ID11315688
AuthorsThorsten Merse (0000-0003-0774-1672, University of Duisburg-Essen), Lotta König (Bielefeld University)
Year2023
Volume53
Issue2
Pages135-174
Publication date2023-05-05
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRevista Latinoamericana de Estudios Educativos (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0185-1284 • E-ISSN: 2448-878X
PublisherUniversidad Iberoamericana, A. C (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.48102/rlee.2023.53.2.559
OpenAlexW4381708195
LanguageEN
References cited5

This paper presents qualitative research findings from a literature-focused classroom project in which EFL (English as a foreign language) learners engage queerly with Shakespeare’s famous Sonnet 18 “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” and Patrick Ness’ young adult (YA) fiction narrative Different for Boys. This project was carried out at a German secondary school (Gymnasium) with a year 11 upper-level class of advanced English. The central rationale of this project – informed by a theoretical basis of literary studies, EFL pedagogy, and queer theory – was to retrace how far the learning processes of students concerning these two texts may validate, irritate or dissipate heteronormative literary readings and interpretations, which are framed here as ‘hetero-normalization’. The results show that a queer focus can draw all learners into critical and committed literary interpretations – with each learner displaying highly individual negotiations located between upfront queer visibility and continued ‘hetero-normalization’

Art · Developmental psychology · German · Girl · Linguistics · Literature · Narrative · Negotiation · Pedagogy · Queer · Sociology · Sonnet · Gender Studies · Gender Studies in Language · Linguistic Education and Pedagogy · Linguistic research and analysis · Philosophy · Psychology

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