English Studies The Change and Significance

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This essay is about the important role that English Studies and Liberal Arts play in today’s Modern World. English is a language that has existed for over centuries now and it has been almost two centuries since it was introduced in India as English Education. English was taught to us Indians to build the ideology that the colonisers wanted us to have and this is something that Gauri Vishwanathan talks about in her work “Masks of conquests: Literacy Study and British Rule in India” as well.
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So, we have had it only as a language in the beginning but now we study it as English Studies- a much broader concept.
English Studies has evolved to a large extent over the years with changes being made to it over the course of time. It includes studies on literature, poetry, stories, dramas and other such works, by prominent authors and poets from all around the world but predominantly originating from the western parts of the world.

The aim now has shifted towards studying them in their socio-political context. The understanding that everything can become a Text (Stories, poems, art, films, music, letters, speeches etc) and that they have Context has become essential to understand the study of English.
It includes courses such as rhetoric analysis, origin of the language, history of English language etc. These same stories, poems, dramas are now not just a piece of aesthetic pleasure but become a product to study their socio-political features and drawbacks as well. One cannot overlook the racist, sexist and classist aspects of these historical masterpieces.
This also puts us in a dilemma as to whether to see their drawbacks and change them or preserve them as a part of our legacy. Some may also find this approach to be very cynical but one cannot deny that it is indeed the need of the hour.
The Liberal Arts Education is one of the oldest subjects in the world. It is the study of overall Social Sciences and General Knowledge. In ancient times Liberal Arts had the Trivium- Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic, later in the medieval times, this was extended with Arithmetic, Geometry, Music and Astronomy called as the Quadrivium. Virtuous, ethical and knowledgeable in many fields. However, Liberal Arts have now become a large contextual subject which is interdisciplinary covering humanities, social, natural and formal sciences. Humanities includes art, literature, linguistics, philosophy, religion, ethics, modern foreign languages, music, theatre, speech, classical, languages etc. Social Science includes history, psychology, law, sociology, politics, gender studies, anthropology, economics, geography, business informatics etc. Natural Sciences include astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics, botany, archaeology, zoology, geology, earth sciences etc. Formal Sciences include mathematics, logic, statistics etc.
Both these subjects of study play an important role in the Modern World. The world has seen drastic changes in areas of Technology, Culture, Politics, Language and many other aspects and all these can be better understood with English Studies and Liberal Arts. And both of them are interconnected, they go hand in hand. English Studies is a part of Liberal Arts, this is because all aspects of Liberal Arts are now being studied and taught in English Studies. As stated earlier, English Studies now involves intensive and critical analysis of every kind of text that is given and this is largely required in the modern world where everyone and everything is trying to portray a different facade of their own and this kind of analysis helps us see the real truth behind them. The various things that are now being taught in English Studies are Rhetoric Analysis, Examining the Socio-Political aspects of the given Text, Critical analysis of History and understanding the various social constructs built for us. Discourse analysis and Deconstruction of Texts It is through these kinds of studies that one is able to hear and recognize the voices never heard before because of the pre-existent prejudices or intolerances that was there in the past.
There is a change in how these courses are taught in the modern world, like mentioned earlier, they are no longer taught for its aesthetic beauty and pleasure but studied in its socio-political context to get a better understanding of them and their authors or producers. One is able to get an intensive perceptive of all the representatives of the society and make their own representations as well to the society as well. This helps in breaking out of the constructs(false or true) built for us and make sure that it is no longer done that way but give everyone an opportunity to be free of them.
The society has oppressed many communities with prejudices and this is reflected in the texts that are produced at any point of time and unaware of this we have been preserving and handing them over to the next generations. Language is a product of social and cultural practices and when the good features of the culture can be embedded in it so will the bad. However, what is important is that one should be able to see through it and teach and learn them in the right way. And this can be done through the new module of the English Studies and Liberal Arts. The world is filled with people who have their own unique opinions and these have been inscribed in their works and teaching them without stating the truth behind them would be a false interpretation.
It is multiplicity of interpretations that is widely being focused on in this new module of English Studies because one can no longer have a one dimension view on a text. Because everything in this modern world has different personas, and they can be understood with the help of the tools which are available in the new module of English Studies like discourse analysis or critical analysis. It builds the potential to see the reality behind every piece of text instead of just being swayed by them here, Rhetoric analysis helps. It is a world where everyone is trying to sell something and they use various persuasive techniques to do so, and can see beyond it with help of the skills developed in English Studies.
History can be understood in its reality and not just as a narrative that was built over the years of change and evolution. It can be seen as different concepts, theories, and thoughts and also as a series of events or actions. Hence, History of British Literature and English Language are being taught but again in a different way, something different from the usual ways it was done. They are taught with their socio-political and anthropological context to give their true meaning and intention.
Courses such as Gender Studies, Sociology, Politics and Economics are included not just to have it for general knowledge but are there to understand and appreciate every community and section of the society with critical reasoning. It enables everyone to have multiple interpretations of things and also to accept the interpretations that others have.
This course of English Studies and Liberal Arts teaches one to develop analytical, evaluative and creative thinking skills, effective oral and written communication skills, critical and reflective reading skills, ability to be tolerant of cultural differences and cross-cultural skills. These are the skills that are essential to become a good student and also an instructor of English Studies and Liberal Arts. And these are the same skills which will make us good social human beings as well. They will help in making one socially aware of the good and bad of the society and maybe change it. As mentioned earlier, it helps in moulding one’s thought processes and guiding it in the right way to make it better. And these are not the only advantages of this; it enables an individual to be prepared for various career paths that are non-conventional.
The Modern World is largely influenced by English Studies and Liberal Arts and they are still very much relevant in today’s context no matter how much it has changed over the years. Their significance is visible in all aspects of the society and they can never be ignored. Because it is only through this, that one can get a real depiction of the world its actual persona or facade, and maybe make changes in it for its betterment. Hence, studying English Studies and Liberal Arts in the present module would mean a completely different thing from what it did many years ago. It is built with the idea to make us better individuals and also to make us acknowledge the others of the society as well.
On the whole it will be only fair to say that, English Studies and Liberal Arts are two interconnected courses of study that enable an individual to become aware of the social differences and embrace it. They make one understand everything in an analytical and critical way to have the right interpretations of the given text. They can be applied in all contexts of society, hence making it one of the most dynamic courses of study.

Andrea Newman

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