Tactical Humanists: Foreign Cultural Literacy in the Postexcellent Institution

“Changing the Blood”: Language, Literature, and Teaching

“…Thirty years and innumerable embroilments later, all is changed. Consider the following admonitions, by Benjamin Robinson (2001), which appeared recently in a journal published by the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages. An assistant professor of Germanic languages and literatures at Ohio State University, Robinson urged that we become "practical service departments," that we "sell to administrators and potential students .…”

“…Somehow, as language teachers, we must have used and then abused literature, conveying the impression that our purpose was to make of each student a professional critic. Today, Professor Robinson's (2001) "practical" strategy offers a market-sensitive defense at a time when there is much criticism of impractical courses in literature and much talk of relevant courses in culture. And yet for me-and I would wager for most of those who teach the Spanish language-it is precious moments remembered in literature-special verses, powerful scenes-that moved our hearts, created new blood within us, and made us want to give our lives to studying and teaching the new world before us.…”