The Classics in the Slums by Jonathan Rose

Until fairly recently, Britain had an amazingly vital autodidact culture, where a large minority of the working classes passionately pursued classic literature, philosophy, and music. They were denied the educational privileges that Professor Smith enjoyed, but they knew that the "great books" that she derided would emancipate the workers.

The Classics in the Slums by Jonathan Rose is a great article that ties into the readings we did last week by Eagleton and Viswanathan. Please read this entire article and we will discuss it in class soon. This challenges some of the ideas we will see in a number of the other essays we will have read and offers some interesting suggestions for what English studies must do to survive.