Literature and Curriculum:Toward a View of Curriculumas Discursive Practice

One trend among recent efforts to redirect the study of curriculum is thediscovery of literary analysis. At least three different uses of literary toolsare offered to curriculum workers. An early and often cited article by Mann (1968-1969), for example, argues that the curriculum should be treated as aliterary work in which the curriculum critic's task is to “disclosemeaning.” Thus Mann proposes that the curriculum field adopt a\literary perspective” towards its objects; this proposal is approved, inconsiderably widened form, by Willis (1975). Other writers (e.g., Kelly1975; Milner 1978) cull specific literary concepts and ideas and offer themfor use in curriculum analysis-the notions of metaphor, point of view,theme, and plot, for example. A third group of writers advocates the use ofa particular literary style in the writing of evaluation reports [e.g., Barone's(1980) use of New Journalism, Vallance's (1978) use of the style of art\criticism].