Newsletter No. 169

CUHK Newsletter No. 169 19th September 2000 3 The CUHK Newsletter spoke to several department chairs who assume chairship for the first time in the 2000-1 academic year. Three of the interviews were conducted in English, and the rest in Chinese. They will be separately carried in the English and Chinese pages of the Newsletter. In this issue we bring you Prof. David Parker's interview. Australia n Schola r wit h a Globa lView o f Englis h Literatur th e Englis h Department English is spoken the world over in regions with different cultural backgrounds and traditions, and their own literary heritage. Would having an England- and Australia-trained scholar from down under in the chair who has had teaching experience in three English-speaking countries have any influence on the policies and directions of the Department of English? Eng l i sh Literature vs Literature i n Eng l i sh Seated i n his new o f f i ce w i t h Monteverdi playing in the background, Prof. Da v id He ywo od Parker, new chairman of the Department of English, said, 'The fact that I come f r om Australia makes me keenly aware that English literature means literature i n English, that is, worldwide literature in English.' He would like to encourage a curriculum that is not so exclusively centred on British and American English, one that is diversified to include the new Anglophone cultures in Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Carribean. Prof. Parker intends to incorporate Australian fiction into the curriculum in the next one or two years, and is also working to encourage creative writing in English here in Hong Kong. He believes it extremely important that Hong Kong is not s i mp l y seen i n the w o r l d i ma g i n a t i on t h r o u gh the eyes o f expatriates and visitors, and that its own peop le are w r i t i n g t o make t he ir experiences available to an international audience. O l d and New Elements i n the Cu r r i cu l um The current academic year sees the introduction of two new courses at the undergraduate level: one in translingual autobiography and the other in reading and w r i t i ng short s t o r i e s . A t t h e g r a d u a te l e v e l , there w i ll be a new course in autobiography — an area of great contemporary interest and one of Prof. Parker's specialities. Autobiography is a genre which opens up space for the in-depth exploration of questions of identity. Therefore it should be of great interest to students living in a bicultural setting such as Hong Kong. Prof. Parker also pointed out that quite a number of the most important autobiographies written today come f r om Chinese or people o f Ch i nese -Ame r i can backgrounds, which offer rich possibilities for research for the local students. D i v e r s i f i c a t i on w i l l be the focus but care w i ll be t a k e n t o ensure that the cu r r i cu l um does not lose touch w i th the e l ement o f c o n t i n u i ty i n English literature from the Renaissance to the modern period. 'It is very important t o realize that the English language has mediated modernity to half the world. To come to grips w i th the culture o f modernity which English bears helps to understand the development of English literature from the birth of modernity in the Renaissance down to the present day, which means that students need to be introduced to some of the major writers of the English literary tradition starting from Shakespeare,' said Prof. Parker. Teaching Eng l i sh Literature i n Hong Kong Prof. Parker was head of the Department of English and Theatre at A u s t r a l i an N a t i o n al U n i v e r s i t y b e f o r e c o m i n g t o the University. He has also taught in the UK and the US. The main difference he could name off-hand —having been in Hong Kong for only a few months — between teaching English literature in a native- speaking country and i n Hong Kong is that, in the f o rme r, one can focus exclusively on the study of literature, whereas here, one has to concentrate also on enhancing Eng l i sh p r o f i c i en c y. According to the new helmsman of the d e p a r t m e n t , t h e c u r r i c u l u m ' s restructuring entails the inclusion of four elements: the skills of communication; developing students' awareness of the systemic basis o f proficient English usage, i.e. g r amma r, s ema n t i c s, phonetics, etc.; seeing English as a global language; and enhancement of cultural literacy in English. In order to understand English literature, he said, one has to acquire a certain level of proficiency in English. Conversely, one cannot be highly p r o f i c i ent i n English without understanding the cultural content the language bears. The new curriculum w i l l be one in wh i ch the study o f language and the study o f literature mu t u a l ly infuse each other. It is often believed that the most effective way for students to gain mastery of a language is to immerse themselves in the culture containing the language. Prof. Parker believes strongly that a great complement to the study of literature is to actually experience at first hand the culture that has produced that literature. 'Even though Hong Kong is a vigorous international community, most students come from an effectively monolingual, monocultural community. Therefore it is vital that they spend time abroad. I've seen cases in which students have been transformed by only a few weeks abroad. They have, g e n e r a l ly s p e a k i n g, more confidence, independence o f m i n d , enhanced proficiency in the language and cultural literacy. It is only when students are truly bilingual and bicultural that they can move freely between a local and a global dimension of experience,' Prof. Parker remarked. I f he could have his way, he said w i t h a laugh, he wo u ld have a billionaire pay for every single student of his department to study abroad for a while. Negotiations w i th relevant University academic departments are currently under way to create new major- minor combinations e.g. English major with minor in business administration or i n l aw. P r o f. Parker believes that employers w i ll see the benefit of having graduates with a high level of proficiency and cu l t u r al literacy i n English, i n addition to professional qualifications. Exp l or i ng a New Research Di rec t i on At Australian National University, Prof. Parker initiated discussions in his department with the aim of changing the then prevailing culture o f regarding research as an individual responsibility to one that regards research as a collective responsibility. 'The department fared better because academics stronger in research could mentor those who were not performing so well. We were more successful as a team setting collective goals for our research than we were as individuals,' he explained, adding that there may be a case for considering that kind of approach to research here at the CUHK Department of English. Why Study Literature? I n Ho ng Ko n g, the number o f secondary schools o f f e r i ng Eng l i sh literature is dwindling and at the tertiary level, the subject is often considered secondary to a major in IT or a professional field. Such t h i nk i ng arises perhaps from certain functionalist views of education. Prof. Parker proposes a more far-sighted view of education. The study of English literature, he said, i s very beneficial to any student because i t is a subject in which, for some of the time at least, there are no au t ho r i t a t i ve answers. Therefore students have to work out their own ideas in a contested space of ideas, which Prof. Parker believes is one of the exciting possibilities the study of literature opens up. I t is a 'broadly humanizing' kind of discipline because students are required to think critically and logically about ideas, to develop their own pe r spec t i ves, and t o express themselves. The study o f literature, he says, goes a l o n g w a y i n p r oduc i ng we l l- rounded educated persons. Mo re About the Person Prof. Parker joined the University only seven months ago and is now living on campus w i th his wife Helen, who teaches English and drama at the Chinese International School, and their 18-year- o l d younger son, who i s l ea r n i ng putonghua. Both Mrs. and Prof. Parker love Western opera and are trying to cultivate their taste for Cantonese and Peking varieties. Prof. Parker also loves sport. He i s a member o f the C U HK cricket team as we ll as the New Asia tennis club. Piera Chen 'English literature means literature in English, that is, worldwide literature in English' 'Autobiography is a genre which opens up space for the in- d pth exploration of questions of identity' 'It is very important to realize that the English language has mediated modernity to half the world' 'It is only when students are truly bilingual and bicultural that they can move freely between a local and a global dimension of experience' 'The study of literature goes a long way in producing well- rounded educated persons'