Common meaning:

Studying English literature that was written by brilliant thinkers.

Hidden meaning of the Equity religion: 

Studying English texts to discover how they are oppressive.

Discussion:

The Equityists believe that since English literature was written by oppressors it contains within it a viewpoint that is trying to dominate people in oppressed groups. The only proper and valid way to study what has been written is to attempt to dissect it and discover how what is written is oppressive.

In the past, taking an English literature course meant studying what some of the great authors had to say, figuring out what universal truths were present in the text, and how they applied to the reader’s life. Equity has changed all of this and now it is not about finding universal truth, but looking for oppression. It is assumed that oppression exists, so now it is just a matter of finding it.

The human mind is a powerful tool, and if we tell ourselves that something exists, our minds tend to see it even if it is not real. Clearly, people who approach English literature with a fixed Equity mindset are deceiving themselves into finding what they expect to find.

We need to approach English literature with a growth mindset, not dogmatism and a closed mindset fixated on oppression. Let’s stop fooling ourselves.