In A-level literature, we are in the middle of reading Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. A bildungsroman (coming-of-age) novel following Amir who is a young narrator living Kabul, Afghanistan during the 1970’s. We are exploring the novel’s historical setting as well as delving deeply into the author’s craft. We have been looking at various literary lenses (ways of approaching literature) like psychoanalytical, feminist, postmodern, postcolonial and others. A-level literature involves the students doing extensive research in their own time and presenting the research in order to enrich our discussions during the class. Students come prepared to discuss the various ideas going on in the text and are expected to contribute to our discussions.
Last, but not least, thank you for reading!In the English department, we encourage students to become lifelong learners and readers. Reading for pleasure and reading widely is truly the best way to develop English skills, so we hope that our students are utilizing the library and exploring different worlds through their reading.