Abstract

This study examines how English departments can navigate the integration of generative AI technologies while preserving their core educational mission of developing authentic student voices and critical thinking. Through intentional case analysis of departmental characteristics and policy frameworks, we identify fundamental tensions between Maton’s knower code dynamics that define humanities education and the horizontal knowledge structures necessary for technological adaptation. Drawing on Bernstein’s discourse theory and contemporary educational research, we argue that current responses to AI, ranging from uncritical embrace to rigid resistance, fail to address the deeper identity challenges these technologies pose for humanities disciplines. Our interpretive policy analysis reveals that English departments, seen as exemplars for humanities departments world-wide, exist as complex institutional environments where preconditions for both AI resistance and acceptance coexist simultaneously. The study maps the acceptance of AI technology on a continuum from AI resistance to AI acceptance. The study introduces adaptive resilience as a framework that honors authentic voices while accommodating pedagogical diversity required for technological adaptation. The findings of our case study and policy analysis suggest that successful AI integration requires moving beyond polarized positions toward relational stances that embrace both traditional expertise based and contemporary multidisciplinary approaches that preserve our commitment to both culturally responsive critical analysis while adapting to evolving technological contexts.

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