| Title: |
Beyond the Linked Text Set: Text Set Assemblages and the Linked Text Set Map |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
Austin Jerrod Unowitz |
| Source: |
English Teaching: Practice and Critique. 2026 25(1):51-64. |
| Availability: |
Emerald Publishing Limited. Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 1WA, UK. Tel: +44-1274-777700; Fax: +44-1274-785201; e-mail: emerald@emeraldinsight.com; Web site: http://www.emerald.com/insight |
| Peer Reviewed: |
Y |
| Page Count: |
14 |
| Publication Date: |
2026 |
| Document Type: |
Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative |
| Education Level: |
Secondary Education |
| Descriptors: |
Secondary School Curriculum; English Curriculum; Curriculum Design; Instructional Materials; Reading Materials; Hypermedia; Cartography |
| DOI: |
10.1108/ETPC-07-2025-0159 |
| ISSN: |
1175-8708 |
| Abstract: |
Purpose: This paper aims to critique the structural limitations of linked text sets, a common tool in secondary English curriculum design, arguing that their reliance on canonical anchor texts limits efforts at diversification. It proposes the linked text set assemblage, a non-hierarchical curricular form that champions emergent connections over a canonical center. To operationalize this reimagining, this paper introduces the Linked Text Set Map, a digital tool for curating text set assemblages. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on poststructuralist philosophy, particularly Deleuze and Guattari's concepts of the rhizome and the assemblage, this paper outlines the process through which traditional linked text sets can become linked text assemblages, which are able to resist the pull of the canon. The paper introduces the Linked Text Set Map, a Web-based tool built using the Cosma hypertext framework, designed to visualize relational connections between texts. Findings: This paper finds that traditional linked text sets, while intended to support curricular inclusion, often reinforce canonical hierarchies through their anchor-based design. Reframing the text set as a rhizomatic assemblage offers a way to decentralize curriculum and foster emergent, relational meaning-making. Research limitations/implications: Future research should examine how the Linked Text Set Map tool functions in classroom and teacher education settings. Practical implications: This paper offers a tool for designing inclusive, non-hierarchical text sets, supporting both pre- and in-service teachers in moving toward a curriculum that is not anchored to the canon. Originality/value: This paper introduces a new framework and tool for reimagining linked text sets through rhizomatic curriculum design. |
| Abstractor: |
As Provided |
| Entry Date: |
2026 |
| Accession Number: |
EJ1501169 |
| Database: |
ERIC |