Circles of Issues: Developing Critical Response Through Literary Engagement

Initiating a critical response among undergraduate students is a pivotal aspect of any literature program. However, what appears wanting in most literature classrooms is students critical participation. Based on a study conducted, it was found that one of the most decisive areas that the students face is in developing a personal response that highlights their critical and in-depth thoughts about a literary text. As an intervention strategy, a workshop was conducted to facilitate the development of critical response in selected students and the results appear positive. One of the strategies taken during the workshop was to introduce the concept of circles of issues towards facilitating students personal responses from a close textual based standpoint to an issue based standpoint. This study discusses the concept of circles of issues as an approach towards initiating learner response in the literature classroom. The study will also use sample responses from 1st year students to illustrate how the concept of circles of issues can allow students to deepen their awareness of a given text and to intensify their participation in the act of critical response.