Teaching Literature in the Age of AI: Towards a Posthuman Pedagogy

Abstract

As modern AI tools become increasingly integrated into student learning, the foundational assumptions of literary education such as authorship, originality, and interpretation are unsettled. This paper argues that AI ought not to be framed exclusively as a destabilizer or a peril to academic integrity, but as an opportunity to reimagine the teaching and comprehension of literature. The study draws upon the posthumanist theory (Rosi Braidotti), authorship studies (Barthes, Foucault), digital humanities (Katherine Hayles), and critical pedagogy (Paulo Freire) to articulate a posthuman model of pedagogical practice using AI as a co-writer, interlocutor, and as a reflective tool for students’ development. It discusses the inadequacies of human-centric teaching practices as a response to AI’s interpretive and generative capabilities, and suggests some executable activities with students, including critiquing AI interpretations of poetry, comparing their readings and interpretations with outputs from virtual machines, and the use of AI to reimagine the original composition of canonical texts into contemporary vernaculars. Ultimately, this study reconceptualizes the teacher’s pedagogical role from an evaluator to a facilitator who encourages students to investigate meaning, authorship, and textuality in an age of machine intelligence. Therefore, instead of resisting AI, literature classrooms must enable students to explore the ways that human and artificial intelligence can interact critically, creatively, and ethically. By situating AI within broader debates on literacy, authorship, and technological mediation, this paper also contributes to ongoing scholarly conversations about the future of humanities education in an era increasingly shaped by algorithmic cultures and hybrid forms of knowledge production.