Perceptions of identity, rights and duties: insights from students’ reading of fiction at a university in Pakistan

This project investigates university students’ perceptions of identity, rights and duties in relation to four novels they study as part of their curriculum. The context of the study is an English department at a public-sector university in Sindh, Pakistan. The main research question that guides this study is, What perceptions of identity, rights and duties are held by a sample of undergraduate students in Pakistan in the context of their study of fiction? Semi-structured interviews and classrooms observations were used as the research instruments. Rosenblatt’s (1938/1970, 1978/1994) reader-response framework and Cogan’s (1998) model of citizenship are used as theoretical frameworks guiding this study. Following feasibility and pilot studies, data for the main study was supplied by twenty-six participants through interviews, comprising three members of curriculum designing board, three teachers of fiction and twenty students of final year undergraduate class. Background and stimulus data was provided by two classroom observations. The key arguments based on findings of this study are that participants’ perceptions of identity, rights and duties included types and examples of citizenship themes discussed by Cogan as well as the themes particularly relevant to the participants’ context such as religion and caste issues. Furthermore, the participants discussed and connected to identity, rights and duties in the novels that were geographically, socially and temporally close in terms of their context which was as expected in light of Rosenblatt’s framework. I make recommendations for further research to explore the role of context in learners’ citizenship interpretations of novels along with other recommendations for research and professional practice.