How "English" is it?

In this introduction to the conference issue of the journal of the Victorian Association for the Teaching of English, the conference convenors reflect on the processes and preoccupations informing professional learning in subject English. In 2000 our theme was “How English is it?”, a provocative question requiring teachers to reflect on the substance of the courses they deliver. This theme clearly links many of the ideas suggested in our brainstorming… the ultimate title is really a more catchy version of the question troubling many teachers: how do we reconceptualise an English which has emerged proudly from the tradition of Matthew Arnold so that it is inclusive of indigenous voices, of regional and international voices and of a global popular culture? What belongs in the English subject/s and classroom?