ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on feelings of confusion or stuckness when studying and teaching literature. It considers what areas of literary study and the seminar encounter are open to confusion and offers ways of approaching stuckness. Situated in the field of early American literary studies in the UK, the chapter uses John Winthrop’s ‘A Modell of Christian Charity’ to discuss how to prepare and support students to tackle unfamiliar material and ‘threshold concepts’ that are central to unlocking further engagement. The final part of the chapter considers how to sit with feelings of confusion and stuckness as authentic and memorable experiences for both students and tutors.
