The teaching of literature, whether at secondary or university level, has always provoked the recurrent, and controversial, question: "What is it good for, really?" Well-worn debates about the autonomy of literature vs. its social function, its usefulness or uselessness, suggest the ethical and political dilemmas that teachers and institutions face when teaching literary texts. Thinking about the aims of literary pedagogy implies a reflection on which texts and literary genres should be taught, how to differentiate between teaching in the original or in translation, which pedagogical approaches should be employed, and how established canons can be critically revised in the light of ongoing debates regarding decolonization, gender equality, and environmentalism, among others. These questions are especially pertinent with regard to literatures in Portuguese, given Portugal's historical role as a colonizing power.

The teaching of literature, whether at secondary or university level, has always provoked the recurrent, and controversial, question: "What is it good for, really?" Well-worn debates about the autonomy of literature vs. its social function, its usefulness or uselessness, suggest the ethical and political dilemmas that teachers and institutions face when teaching literary texts. Thinking about the aims of literary pedagogy implies a reflection on which texts and literary genres should be taught, how to differentiate between teaching in the original or in translation, which pedagogical approaches should be employed, and how established canons can be critically revised in the light of ongoing debates regarding decolonization, gender equality, and environmentalism, among others. These questions are especially pertinent with regard to literatures in Portuguese, given Portugal's historical role as a colonizing power.