Calls now abound in a range of literatures--philosophy, education, sociology, anthropology, media studies--to reimagine citizenship and identity in ways befitting a global age. A concept predominant in many such calls is the ancient idea of "cosmopolitanism." Refashioned now to serve as a compass in a world that is at once radically interconnected…

By examining a class discussion between an eighth grade student and her teacher around the reading of a literary text, my intent in this paper is to further the discussion around one of the central issues in English education today--the inquiry around whether it is more productive to teach literature by first connecting students' cultural…