Ayn Rand's novel "The Fountainhead" can be a useful text in an undergraduate English class, helping students think through issues of individualism. Rand's own concept of the self, however, ignores its social dimensions. (Contains 7 notes.)

Although, by the time of her death, Louise Rosenblatt was highly respected in the fields of composition and reading theory, she did not enjoy the same status among literary theorists. In this article, the author argues that Rosenblatt should be taken seriously as a literary theorist. The author shares her views on Rosenblatt's "Literature as…

Provides a theoretical framework by which traditional prosody might be reformulated according to reader response insight. Advocates prosody taking the form of a "story of reading." Advocates a narrative style of prosodic criticism. (HB)

Provides the reactions of Louise M. Rosenblatt, a key figure in the field of reader response criticism, to the developments in reading, writing, and critical theory in the 1980s. Gives a brief personal history of Rosenblatt and the field. Describes her transactional theory and interpretations of it by other critics. (HB)

Discusses some concrete examples of the kinds of conflicts that can surface when reader-response theory is actually practiced in the classroom, and considers some of the implications. Urges instructors to make room for contesting views and to facilitate serious, committed, personal interchanges. (MS)

Focuses on the practice of critical reading in the English classroom. Argues that what is done in the classroom should be grounded in critical reading activities and be connected to the real lives of students. Demonstrates such a teaching approach in the context of a literature class studying Henry James's novel, "Washington Square." (HB)

Suggests three levels of reading. The first is exemplified by E. D. Hirsch's prescriptive "cultural literacy." The second is interpretive, typified by the "strong reader." The third is critical and is best suited to dealing with the complexities of poetry. (ARH)

Focuses on the resonance and power of the Madonna, or the Virgin Mary, in literature and culture. Argues that the Madonna represents womanhood and feminism. Describes how the multiple readings of "The Scarlet Letter" charted one professor's changing relationship over 10 years with the Jesuit institution where she taught. (HB)

Discusses pedagogical strategies that encourage keener and more sensitive student reactions to the postcolonial problematics represented in two essays by Jamaican writer Michelle Cliff, essays which often provoke hostility in mainstream, White, middle-class undergraduates. Discusses ways to create a context in the literature or writing classroom…

Argues that the teaching method instructors use to present poetry--direct/indirect, analytic/subjective, or reader focused/text focused--is influenced by the kind of relationship they wish to establish with the students. (MM)

Argues that different kinds of response statements, focusing on issues from cultural, historical, phenomenological, and structuralist approaches to reading texts, can be assigned to help students learn about more demanding kinds of information and, hence, can make students stronger, more informed, and more self-conscious readers of literature. (EL)

Examines students' difficulties in reading literature and suggests methods for helping them to develop and improve skills necessary for the mature reading of literature. (MM)