The Leavisite Paradigm refers to the literary and cultural criticism associated with F.R. Leavis and his wife, Q.D. Leavis. It emphasizes close textual analysis, moral seriousness, and a belief in "great books" as the core of literary education. The Leavisites argued that literature should be central to intellectual and cultural life, rejecting what they saw as the degradation of standards in modern mass culture.