Epistemological Turns and the Future of English Studies: Rethinking Methods, Texts, and Pedagogy
J. JOHN SEKAR
*
Research Department of English, Academic Policies & Administration, The American College, Madurai – 625 002, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study investigates the extent to which recent epistemological reorientations—often conceptualised as disciplinary “turns”—have reconceptualised English Studies as an increasingly dynamic and responsive field. Adopting a qualitative, interpretive research design grounded in critical-theoretical synthesis, comparative analytical procedures, and illustrative textual exemplification, the study traces the impact of the turns such as, animal, plant, affective, ethical, digital, global, green, blue, linguistic, and vulnerability turns on both literary interpretation and pedagogical practice. Through close analysis of canonical works like The Tempest and contemporary works like Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, the research demonstrates how these theoretical turns intersect, converge, and at times produce productive tensions that recalibrate established interpretive frameworks. The findings that include English studies remains an adaptive, future-oriented discipline capable of responding meaningfully to shifting intellectual, cultural, ecological, and ethical imperatives indicate that such epistemological shifts broaden the disciplinary horizon, enhance interdisciplinary sensibilities, and cultivate ethical, critical, and reflective competencies among English majors. Although conceptual rather than empirical in scope, the study advances significant pedagogical and disciplinary insights, underscoring the adaptive, future-oriented, and socially attuned character of English Studies as a continuously evolving living discipline.
Keywords: Literary pedagogy, interdisciplinary frameworks, ethical engagement, ecocritical analysis, affective reading, cotemporary interpretation