Focusing on the need to offer and encourage the experience of reading literature in elementary schools, the essays in this book (1) explicate the range of theory known as reader-response criticism; (2) argue its distinctive relevance to the needs of young, developing readers; and (3) indicate how classroom practices might be changed to accommodate…

The film "Pieces of a Puzzle" (part of the series "Writers Writing" that was coproduced by WNET and Learning Designs and televised by WNET in 1985), helped students become better writers and facilitated the discovery of material and techniques appropriate to academic writing. First, students were introduced to reader response…

American foreign policy must operate within the parameters of public opinion, and governmental and non-governmental actors must educate the characteristically alienated citizenry concerning policy issues. Since rational discourse is of limited benefit in the process, advocates instead use verbal representations or metaphor to instill within the…

Written in narrative form, a study examined the impact of using writing as a learning tool in an upper-division college course in Seventeenth Century literature. The study investigated: (1) student writing samples of both informal and transactional writing forms; (2) the impact of writing-to-learn on course objectives; (3) the impact of informal…

A study investigated whether reading comprehension would improve if children were made aware of story grammar and were asked schema-related questions. Subjects were 33 fifth grade students, half scoring on or above grade level and half scoring below grade level on the reading section of the Metropolitan Achievement Tests. During 11 sessions, 45…

Over the past 30 years the study of politics has imitated the discourse of the natural sciences. Articles in this mode of discourse can be characterized as opening with a problem expressed through a review of the literature; continuing with an hypothesis, a methodology, and hypothesis testing; and ending with only narrow conclusions, limited to…

Literary works that will help teachers of humanities and conflict resolution courses lead their students to a better understanding of the problems of war and peace are summarized. The document is based on two premises: (1) literature that captures the experience and the meaning of war leads to an understanding of that phenomenon, and (2) the…

While each English department will establish its own set of assumptions appropriate for its objectives and programs, the new rhetoric can bring some coherence to the teaching of writing and literature by providing students with reliable strategies for reading literature as well as writing. In teaching literature teachers need to demonstrate the…

Because of its wide range of justifiable interpretations, Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" is an appropriate novel to use to help students become better critical readers. Scholarly criticism continues to debate the topic of Tess's character, yet recent feminist and deconstructionist approaches, as well as recently published…

In most colleges and universities, linguistics is taught very little, while disciplines intellectually dependent on results in linguistics are taught almost universally. An understanding of the central issues in philosophy, psychology, anthropology, literature, and artificial intelligence requires an understanding of linguistics, but most…

Three papers given at a seminar on the state of the "discipline" of English are presented which form an introduction to an analysis of the activity of "teaching and researching English" as it is currently being done at Queensland University (Australia) and others. Following an introduction summarizing the background of the…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 24 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) humorous children's literature and divergent thinking; (2) the development of children's ability to apprehend and distribute attention to important elements in…

A course entitled "In Another Country: Perspectives on Human Values" is being initiated in Manor Junior College (Pennsylvania) in an attempt to revitalize liberal arts offerings while making them relevant to career oriented students. Satisfying composition and philosophy requirements, this experimental six credit course will be offered to allied…

Intended for college instructors, this paper describes a course that explores the ways in which technology shapes American life by focusing on the ethical questions that technology raises. The introductory section of the paper includes a description of the course and its objectives. The next two sections contain the assignment sequence and study…

Focusing on a wide range of interdisciplinary themes and ideas for humanities instruction, the 17 articles in this journal issue discuss the following topics: (1) literature, humanities, and the adult learner; (2) the role of the humanities in educating for a democracy; (3) humanities in the marketplace; (4) literature versus "great books" in high…