Otras ctividades (enseñanza de la matemática a nivel universitario)

The four central issues present in contemporary dystopian YA literature that were addressed in the previous section – social organization, environmental and technological concerns, conformity, and development of personal identity – are highly relevant for both the English subject curriculum and the core curriculum in Norway. The first two issues, social organization and environmental and technological concerns, are suitable when addressing culture and society in subject English. As discussed in chapter 2, one of the main subject areas of the curriculum is named “culture, society and literature” (Udir 2006a; 2013a). I only discussed the competence aims linked to literature there, but these sections also address culture and society. The curriculum for the compulsory English course states that students should “discuss and elaborate on culture and social conditions in several English-speaking countries” (Udir 2013a, p. 9). In the curriculum for the elective courses, the aims for Vg2 International English state that students should “elaborate on and discuss various aspects of multicultural societies in the English-speaking world” and “elaborate on and discuss a number of international and global challenges” (Udir 2006a, p. 6). In Vg3 English Literature and Culture, students should “interpret literary texts and other cultural expressions from a cultural- historical and social perspective”, “elaborate on and discuss the cultural position of the United States and Great Britain in the world today, and the background for the same”, and “elaborate on and discuss current issues in international culture and the news media” (Udir, 2006a, p. 7). In Vg3 Social Studies English, students should, among other things, “elaborate on and discuss questions related to social and economic conditions in some English-speaking countries” and “elaborate on and discuss current debates in the English-speaking world” (Udir, 2006a, p. 7). Just like the aims addressing literature specifically, the competence aims focusing on culture and society are very broad, and it is thus possible to use literary texts when working towards

achieving them. Dystopias might be especially apt, since seeing links between the imagined dystopias and the English-speaking world can provide interesting perspectives on contemporary society – for instance by focusing on social organization and environmental and technological concerns in these texts. As the English subject curriculum for the compulsory and the elective courses in upper secondary school do not specify which literary texts or genres students should read, dystopias could be read in all the courses.

Furthermore, all of the four issues addressed in section 4.2 relate to the core curriculum that is supposed to be integrated in the entire educational system (KKUF, 1993a). As discussed in chapter 3, the core curriculum is closely linked to ideals of Bildung. In my view, contemporary dystopian YA literature could help teachers work towards several of the educational aims and values that the curriculum wants Norwegian education to include.

Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, the environmental and technological concerns addressed in many YA dystopias can be easily linked to the aim of students becoming environmentally aware. The core curriculum states:

Human beings are a part of nature, and are constantly making decisions with repercussions not only for their own welfare, but also for other humans and for the natural environment as well. Our choices have consequences across geographic borders and across generations […] our society’s waste becomes the plight of future generations (KKUF, 1993a, p. 35).

The focus on contemporary humans’ responsibilities for future generations makes dystopias particularly apt for addressing these aims. Ecological dystopias, such as Bertagna’s Exodus trilogy, Bacigalupi’s Ship Breaker, and Lloyd’s The Carbon Diaries series, imagine the future as it might look if we do not act on the problems causing irreversible climate change, and they force us to consider what we might be doing to later generations. The core curriculum encourages teaching that helps students consider “the interplay between economy, ecology and technology” (p. 36) and that education “must counteract fragmentary and compartmentalized learning” (p. 38). It argues that ethics must be included in our discussions, and that students’ “faith in the

efficacy of joint efforts and collective action” (p. 38) should be nurtured. This could be interpreted as encouraging students to agency and social action – an issue that is present in existing didactic writing on dystopian fiction (Hill, 2012; Matz, 2015; Simmons, 2014). Furthermore, the introduction of the core curriculum states that education “must teach the young to look ahead and train their ability to make sound choices” and “accustom them to taking responsibility – to assess the effects of their actions on others and evaluate them in terms of ethical principles” (KKUF, 1993a, p. 5). Dystopias could help inspire students to take action, as literary texts have a unique ability to evoke feelings of compassion and understanding for others (Nussbaum, 1997). Thus, dystopian literature could be able to connect with students at an emotional level, which in turn could lead them to consider their own actions in terms of how they might impact on future humans. In this sense, environmentalism could be linked to both ethics and agency when dystopian literature is used in the upper secondary classroom.

Secondly, the core curriculum emphasizes “the social human being” by focusing on the various communities students are part of as well as their role in them (KKUF, 1993a, pp. 30-31). This can be linked to both social organization and conformity in dystopias: the core curriculum discusses students’ “duties and responsibilities” for others, focusing especially on the school context (p. 31). Although the curriculum’s perspective is inherently positive in its outlook on the social human being’s role, dystopian literature could be used to problematize what happens if the duties and responsibilities required of the individual by society do not align with the individual’s beliefs, moral compass, and/or self-preservation. Contemporary YA dystopias that could be used to address this include Ewing’s Lone City trilogy, O’Neill’s Only Ever Yours, and Shusterman’s Unwind series. As the core curriculum also discusses the importance of critical thinking (p. 14), dystopian literature could be helpful for combining these perspectives.

Thirdly, dystopian literature’s sustained focus on the development of personal identity relates to several parts of the core curriculum. In essence, the entire document aspires to help young people develop, with a particular focus on values and skills that are necessary to make students productive and responsible members of society. The section on “the spiritual human being” discusses the development of individual identity in

relation to cultural heritage (pp. 7-9), the section on “the creative human being” encourages students to “open their minds” (p. 11), and the section on “the integrated human being” states that education should aim to “develop independent and autonomous personalities” (p. 39). As contemporary dystopian YA fiction frequently portrays protagonists who develop during the course of the narrative and who seek to have a positive impact on the society in which they live, these types of texts could help students find out who they are and what their role in society should be. Some of the novels examined in this study are examples of texts that could be used in this manner, and this is further explored in what follows.