I was overwhelmed when I entered the literature department at the University of Birmingham in the UK and attended class on the first day. I feel like I'm stuck in the wrong place. We came from Pakistan (although I had done MA International Journal from the same university before), and we could do nothing but memorize. The first week, however, passed, deciding what to do next. Four books were handed out the following week, including books on the culture of TS Elliott, Matthew Arnold, Raymond Williams and Terry Eagleton, and it was stated that they would be discussed next week.
Well, I didn't know what to talk about in class next week, so I ran out of time to listen to others. Then there was a list of books to be read in the coming weeks, including Karl Marx's 18th Bromeier, Lucas's History and Class Consciousness, essays on Gramsci's culture, Tariq Ali's book on culture, Rolland Barth's mythology. Including many other books.
Three months passed and the first part was completed. The students were then asked what to study in the next three months. There are three lists to choose from. I chose Philosophy of Aesthetics, and the books on the list included Plato's Republic, David Hume's Essays on Aesthetics, Bamgarten's Aesthetic Theory, Schiller's Letters, and Emmanuel Kant's Third Criticism. Many other books were included, including A Critique of Aesthetics. Well, I had to write three articles in three months. Have to write, semester is over. He rested for a while and then the head of the school called a meeting, in which he asked what would you choose for your final dissertation? Anyway, the training was done. I chose Trotsky's "Literature and Revolution" and wrote an essay on it. He later decided to write a dissertation on Kant's philosophy of aesthetics. As I write my dissertation on Trotsky's book, I repeatedly include philosophy. Supervisor's philosophy was not specialized. They did not stop me from saying that you were doing wrong, but held a meeting with the head of the school and gave me another philosopher and supervisor who had written several books on Wittgenstein. From there I set out to reconcile literature and philosophy and completed two dissertations, one on Trotsky and the other on Kant.
The supervisor never told me what to do. He would only meet me every other week and ask what he had done, and check the quality. There was a lot of trouble, they had left Pakistan, they had to do everything by themselves. However, the work was completed. I was given three titles to choose from. The reason was that I had reconciled literature and philosophy. Anyway, at least I didn't go down without explaining myself first.
The purpose of all this explanation was simply to show that in the British education system, the inside of a person is brought out, his abilities are enhanced. Curiosity is created in it, it is made active, not unknown. Nothing is pushed into it. We are given material in the form of books to think about, but the final decision rests with the student. In the UK, the process begins with schools. Later, during my experience in schools, I saw how a GCSC child criticizes Shakespeare.
How he criticizes religion and how he sees freely what happened in the two great wars of the twentieth century, not that this child is part of any propaganda. Twelve-year-olds were asked during the Iraq war what they thought was right and wrong. Most of the children called it wrong and criticized the policies of their country and the training is such that the child does not get involved in propaganda. Fourteen-year-olds openly criticize British policies while studying history. Criticism of the church is a general attitude that is not taught to children, but is formed by children in their own minds, taking into account a wider historical context.
There is no such thing as "British Studies" like "Pakistan Studies", which should be stuck in the minds. That is the true meaning of burning up of bad psychic imprints on one's mind and body. The education system here teaches man to be active, responsible, a believer in equality, respect for freedom of expression, and the tolerance required for a pluralistic society. There is a great creator hidden inside every child, this is the work of education and this is how to bring it out.
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