TANU WAKEFIELD || PHYS.ORG
While the phrase “close reading” may not resonate for someone outside of an English department, Stanford literary scholar Paula Moya wants to reclaim the useful literary tool, especially when it comes to multicultural writers.
She defends close reading, a method of examining literature by paying heightened attention to the language, form, and details of a novel, story or poem.
By carefully examining the work of writers like Toni Morrison, Junot Díaz, and Helena Maria Viramontes, Moya builds a case that literature, when read closely, can help us better understand the multiracial world we live in and the interactions of race and ethnicity.
“Race is a complex, multivalent, and persistent social phenomenon. It’s not going away and we need to do a better job of understanding and talking about it,” Moya said in a recent interview.>>READ MORE
