Reimagining English Classrooms: Caste, Emotion, and Empathic Learning in Mulk Raj Anand’s Untouchable

This article here reimagines English classrooms by positioning Mulk Raj Anand’s Untouchable as a catalyst for empathic, justice-oriented learning. Using the Affective–Aesthetic–Activist (AAA) framework, the study synthesizes affect theory, aesthetic education, and critical pedagogy to show how literary emotion, form, and classroom praxis can move learners from feeling to reflection to ethical action. A qualitative, interpretive design includes close textual analysis of affective nodes (humiliation, shame, compassion) and a simulated teaching module that operationalizes reflective journaling, dialogic circles, and creative reimagination. Findings indicate that Anand’s critical realism enables narrative empathy while foregrounding caste as a lived, affective structure; when mediated through AAA-aligned activities, students’ emotional responses can be scaffolded into moral reasoning and civic consciousness. Implications include reframing assessment to value emotional literacy alongside analytic skill and establishing facilitative norms that transform discomfort into critical insight. The model is transferable to Indian and international contexts addressing social inequality through literature.

کلیدواژه ها:

Affective Pedagogy ، Empathy ، Critical Pedagogy ، Dalit Literature ، English education