New Chaucer Studies: Pedagogy and Profession

The scholarly legacy of the late Derek Pearsall is well documented in his publication history, yet his importance as a teacher has not received the same degree of attention. This personal essay reconsiders the idea of a teaching archive by exploring the impact of a teacher thirty years after the conclusion of a class, upon a student who did not go on to become a medievalist. Through an appreciation of Derek's conversational approach to pedagogy, the author champions the dialogical relations at the heart of education which hold particular value during a time of social and professional disengagement.