Annotations from a Literature Student Looking at the Olympus. Three Disciplinary Trends in Chilean Undergraduate Study Programs

Abstract

During the 90’s several literary critics reacted to what was perceived as the reconfiguration of the Literary Studies field which, according to certain positions, were going to be subsumed by Cultural Studies and cross-disciplinary approaches. In the academy, this disciplinary crisis materializes, for instance, in the ideas of literature that guide the elaboration of undergraduate study programs which prioritize knowledge and skills despite others. I recognize three main trends: (a) the lack of literary theory in the classes’ syllabus; (b) the proliferation of creative writing courses and semi- nars; and (c) an anti-academicist turn. In this essay, I will analyze the current relations between Literary Studies, the University System, and the Market from the undergraduate student’s point of view. For this purpose, I will comment on the undergraduate program (B.A.) that I am currently completing.