Blog 7: Commentary on "Why Literature Is the Answer to Fundamentalism"

I find it hard to talk about the readings sometimes in these blogs, so I’ve decided to bring in some random material that I come across. I just read this article on Google News called “Why Literature Is the Answer to Fundamentalism” by Tabish Khair. The writer clarifies that Fundamentalism tends to “reduce texts, including sacred ones, to a singular message” and blames “the technocratic nature of today’s society.” Essentially, society is over-simplifying everything. In terms of this class, the same could be said about the writing process. Many educators try to over-simplify the writing process by forcing students into strict writing modes that have little-to-no flexibility - like a production line for writers. Yet, in the long run, educators are limiting the creativity of their students. The same could be applied to the Fundamentalist influence on society - different societal groups become stuck in inflexible modes of thought. The loop is infinite. The writer of this article, Khair, suggests that “the antidote to this trend is not to offer other messages but to learn again how to read - and hence think - with complexity.” I’ve applied this to the writing process and reworded it: “the antidote to stale writing is to learn how to compose freely - an hence write - with complexity.” Meaning, as an educator, be open to all types of ‘methods’ so that students can stretch their creativity, and thus the writing becomes infused with varying layers and degrees of pathos, ethos, logos.