The Grace of Story: What to Read, How to Read, Why to Read with Jessica Hooten Wilson

Kale is joined by Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson to discuss the literary tradition and why we must read. He starts by asking Jessica why teaching literature is difficult and fraught. Instead of reading for identity affirmation, Jessica points to the inherent ability to challenge us that makes the tradition so dynamic and ultimately anti-fragile. The tradition--that which is received and that which is passed on--gives us a way of being in the world, without which we hazard our shared humanity. Contrary to current notions of progressive education theories that foreground technologies instead of content, Jessica posits a vision of education in which we come to understand the broad inheritance and not the narrowed focus literature as a selfish mirror.