Literature in subject English in Australia: purpose, identity and mode

© 2018 selection and editorial matter, Chin Ee Loh, Suzanne Choo and Catherine Beavis; individual chapters, the contributors. The place of literature within English Education in Australia has long been central, but the nature, subject, and composition of what counts as ‘literature’ has changed. This chapter charts the ways in which popular and multimodal texts made their way as ‘literature’ in English in Australia, the implications of such change for constructions of the subject, and the ways in which the incorporation of such texts enables core priorities of English to continue to be realized. The chapter concludes with a consideration of the place of literature in English Education in addressing contemporary challenges in the digital, globalized world.