Teaching Literature in Taiwan After A.I.: The Death -- or Renaissance? -- of Humanism and the Humanities

This paper examines recent debates about the impact of A.I. on the humanities (literature, history, philosophy), in particular on the teaching of such subjects in technology universities and ESL programs. The emergence of A.I. technology and the potential for moving education out of the classroom has only sharpened long-standing criticism of departments that include literary studies as part of an ESL curriculum. Now, with so many educational tools easily accessible online to students learning English, can we not safely remove literary studies from technology universities and from practical general education programs? If, whenever needed, an A.I. voice can immediately tell a student not only who wrote King Lear and what the basic plot is, but why King Lear is a good play, then what purpose is served by a university-level “Introduction to Literature” class? Or is there potential for A.I. to be incorporated, as it has been into so many fields, into classroom teaching and study of literature? But if so, how so?

In order to reflect on what the immediate and long-term future of ESL literature studies will look like, this paper considers both the theoretical arguments in favor of (indeed, in defense of) literary study and also the practical reality of teaching literature in Taiwan. Re-examining our understanding of what the value of literature is, of what adult education should look like, will be necessary as humanists in general and literature professors in particular engage in conversations about how to incorporate A.I. technology in universities, in research departments, and in individual classrooms.