This book proposes the study of literary texts as a vital component of L2 linguistic and cultural knowledge. The research, conducted with students of Italian in Australia, is situated in the wider L2 context, and compared to studies on students' perceptions of English and French literary texts in countries such as Canada, Italy, Australia, Germany and the Ukraine.
The first part of the book takes the debate on the inclusion of literature in language education as a springboard for posing crucial questions about how students, and educators, view literature. The theoretical framework...