The Reader's Duty

What is the reader's duty?

I suppose that question sounds out of the blue, but for me it is something I have been trying to consider for awhile. As we moved into the sections of the course dealing with Ethnic and Feminine theories, I began to ask myself--what should I be reading?

Despite our attempts to change, the fact remains that most of the writers I have read in my fifteen, sixteen odd years of schooling have been white males. Their perspective has been promoted and privileged, and I would think that you would be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn't consider this unfair or wrong in some way.

In class we discussed Ngugi's idea of abolishing English Departments and replacing them with Departments that focus more on the study of language and literature, with the literature of the department's native culture serving as the primary focus of study. We affirm this, because we recognize that his culture has been oppressed by colonization, and this oppression should be lifted.

At the same time that we affirm Africans for wanting to focus on African literature, we chastise Americans for wanting to focus on American literature. Specifically, we look unfavorably upon Caucasian Americans for studying primarily Caucasian (American and British) literature.

If studying your own culture's literature is wrong in some cases but admirable in others, it begs the question: why? Obviously, we would say, because Caucasians have long since dominated the literary scene, and ought to open themselves to the discourse of those Other than themselves, whereas those groups that Caucasians have oppressed ought to have the chance to affirm their own writing.

As I've said, I would not necessarily disagree with this, I would, however, question the validity in being ethnocentric in any way, to any degree. I wonder whether it wouldn't be better for all Language and Literature Departments to try and study the fullest, most balanced variety of perspectives possible. Shouldn't it be the duty of all readers to respect and acknowledge diverse views by reading writers of African, Asian, European, Hispanic, female, male, heterosexual, homosexual, etc, etc backgrounds?

Perhaps that is too idealistic--but is such optimism wrong?