This study by Kelli A. Rushek, Ph.D., assistant professor of English Language Arts Education at Miami University, and Ellie MacDowell, a Miami University graduate and high school English teacher, explores what happens when teachers challenge the “canonical grasp” of Eurocentric literature in secondary English classrooms. Canonical texts—those long regarded as “great works” in Western literature, such as To Kill a Mockingbird—often uphold white, middle-class perspectives while marginalizing others. Rushek and MacDowell argue that anti-racist teaching begins by examining why these texts are privileged and how educators can teach for equity and representation.

Drawing on critical literacy pedagogy (teaching students to question how power and identity shape language and stories) and culturally relevant pedagogy (building curriculum that connects to students’ cultures and experiences), the authors chronicle a two-year mentorship between a teacher educator and a preservice teacher. Together, they reimagined To Kill a Mockingbird not as a central novel but as a historical artifact—pairing it with Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy to center Black voices and contemporary justice issues. This “release from the canonical grasp,” they found, helped dismantle curricular whiteness and created space for culturally sustaining, anti-racist literacy instruction.

Their work offers a practical model for teachers asking how to teach “classic” literature while promoting justice and inclusion.

Faculty authors: Kelli A. Rushek, Miami University
Alumni co-author: Ellie MacDowell, Miami University graduate and high school English teacher
Keywords: anti-racist teaching, canonical texts, critical literacy pedagogy, culturally relevant pedagogy, To Kill a Mockingbird, teacher education
Publication details: “The Gradual Release of the Canonical Grasp: An Exercise in Excavation.” Journal of Language and Literacy Education, Vol. 19, Issue 2 (Fall 2023).

Read the article