Claims that undergraduate curricula show a tension between a commitment to diversity and a commitment to coherence. Argues that the issues of "minority" students--including Blacks, homosexuals, and women--must be included to teach the value of encountering, listening to, and establishing a connection with different lifestyles and…

Discusses two sources of classroom discomfort: the emergence of feelings and understandings that were previously not permitted in classrooms; and the initiatives of contemporary students who represent zones of society that did not previously participate in university life. Discusses classroom examples involving religious stereotypes and racial…

Advances four hypotheses as to why a student requested to be absent during a discussion of Anne Sexton's poem sequence "The Jesus Papers," which the student thought to be offensive. Suggests that English teachers lack a working consensus as to what kind of space the literature classroom is and what they should be trying to accomplish…

Describes the success of a Georgia Tech course that integrates science and literature by analyzing the division between these "two cultures." Summarizes course organization and content, including section topics; reading materials from science, philosophy, and literature; and basic issues confronted in the course. (MM)

Considers the potential use that English teachers might make of the discussions ensuing from curricular reform initiatives. Argues that the debates generated by the process of program reform are usually far better than the curricular results of those debates. Shows how assessment debates have great educational potential for curricular changes. (HB)