Culturalist ‘Classics’ Revisited: Teaching (with) Foundational Texts in Today’s English Classroom

Autori/Autrici

Parole chiave:

Culturalist analytical approach; Textbook(s); Representation; Introduzione agli Studi Culturali britannici; Englishness; Time Machines

Abstract

This article revisits a selection of foundational Cultural Studies texts and examines their continued relevance for the contemporary teaching of English language and culture. Building on the enduring legacy of works such as Representation, Englishness, Introduzione agli Studi Culturali britannici and Time Machines, the discussion highlights how Cultural Studies debates on identity, ideology, and representation remain central to understanding today’s discursive arenas. The article then explores how these theoretical concerns can be meaningfully translated into school-level practice, where the choice of textbooks plays a crucial role in shaping students’ cultural literacy. Through a lesson plan grounded in the Presentation–Practice–Production method, the communicative approach, and culturalist analytical tools, the article demonstrates how students can be guided to engage critically with political discourse, develop appropriate vocabulary, and reflect on the cultural processes through which meanings are produced and circulated. The proposed pedagogical framework illustrates how teaching ‘with’ and ‘through’ Cultural Studies ‘classics’ can foster both linguistic competence and critical awareness in today’s English classroom.

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Biografia autore/autrice

Ester Gendusa, University of Palermo

Ester Gendusa holds a Master of Arts in Gender, Culture and Politics from Birkbeck College (University of London) and a PhD in English Literature from the University of Palermo, where she is currently a researcher in English Language, Translation and Linguistics. The author of the first Italian monograph on Bernardine Evaristo’s literary production, Identità nere e cultura europea (2014), she has published extensively on post colonial and (Black) British authors. She has also edited Evaristo’s first collection of short stories, Dove finisce il mondo (2015), and produced the most recent Italian critical edition of George Bernard Shaw’s novella The Black Girl in Search of God (2020). Her current research focuses on the interplay between language and power in contemporary multimodal discursive arenas, including news media, as well as on the representation of antinormative identities in British and American cinema. In this field, she has recently published the chapter “Defiant Identities in a Contemporary Dysto Utopian Blockbuster: A Multimodal Analysis of James Cameron’s Avatar” in Narrating Multiplicities in Motion, edited by E. Ogliari, A. Pasolini and C. Tempestoso (Routledge, 2026).

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Pubblicato

2026-02-28

Come citare

Gendusa, Ester. 2026. «Culturalist ‘Classics’ Revisited: Teaching (with) Foundational Texts in Today’s English Classroom». Altre Modernità, febbraio, 185-210. https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/AMonline/article/view/30975.

Fascicolo

2026: NUMERO SPECIALE: 10 e lode!

Sezione

Saggi Ensayos Essais Essays

Licenza

Creative Commons License

Questo lavoro è fornito con la licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Condividi allo stesso modo 4.0.