As award season approaches and nominations are announced, the annual debates and controversies over the diversity of the nominees and winners begin again. More than 70% of roles in the top hundred films of the year were white, as has been typical since as long as records have been kept. However, there is a diversity issue closer to us as students, and one which is far less talked about but equally important in our consumption of media. The books and plays which make up the GCSE English specifications make up a crucial part of how young people in this country view literature- and they are overwhelmingly written by white and male authors.
While, due to Michael Gove’s regulations, all texts studied in the new specification must be written by British authors (which in itself cuts us off from huge swathes of writing that students may otherwise never be exposed to), this does not excuse the fact that from the AQA modern texts selection, only two out of the twelve options are written by women, and two written by people from ethnic minorities. It is understandable that due to historical context, the 19th century novels will be overwhelmingly written by white authors, and that nearly half are written by women is commendable, but surely this should make it all the more important to choose modern texts by BAME authors, of which there are obviously a wide variety- Zadie Smith, Sam Selvon and Buchi Emecheta immediately come to mind.
The books and plays studied are hardly relatable to the vast majority of the students taking the exams, and are unlikely to inspire anyone to take an interest in reading who was not doing so already- and surely this should be at least part of the point. There are many contemporary texts which would be more relevant and probably enjoyable to students, and if we moved away from a system where only three texts are studied, one of which is required to be Shakespeare, then a true love for English literature could be fostered among teenagers who instead memorise the necessary quotes and plot points of Bronte and Dickens. By only giving examples of white authors, a message is also being given out, similar to that of award shows or films with all white casts- that only certain people can be successful in fields like acting or writing, or at least that only certain types of people can be respected and studied.
Let students chose the texts we study, or at least have some input into how are curriculum is devised. We will appreciate what we consume far more if we can choose options we find interesting and that bear relevance to our own lives- and if all you care about is grades, it will improve those too. More importantly, we will help make sure there is a conscious effort to include minority writers, making specifications more representative of the students they are aimed at, more accessible, and more enjoyable to those studying and those teaching.
