Analyzes A. Jones' exposition of the problems her students face in acquiring post-structuralist discourse and the aspects of that problem that Jones attributes to the writings of B. Davies. A focus is on the concept of the post-structuralist "subject." (SLD)

Offers an exercise involving popular culture to help students experience the contemporary power of Shakespeare. Explains that after reading a Shakespeare play, students develop new cereal brands based upon the work's plot, characters, or themes, afterward naming, designing, creating, and displaying the cereal package. Combines literary analysis,…

Argues that developmental psychology can profit by incorporating ideas from recent philosophies of knowledge. Delineates three "families" of philosophies of knowledge: the contemporary German critical-theoretical thinking of Holzkamp and Habermas; postmodern French thought; and North American multiple-voices approaches that emphasize the…

Notes alternative visions of the relationship between developmental psychology and three theoretical approaches described by Teo. Highlights four such visions: positivism or exclusivism, which rejects alternate viewpoints; inclusivism, which assimilates elements of alternate viewpoints; detachment or relativism, which sees different viewpoints as…

Offers a rereading of Frances Hodgson Burnett's "The Secret Garden," finding in it the triumph of Apollonian male rationalism over the Dionysian female cult of nature. Examines images of primitivism and wildness in the book, connecting them to polarities in conceptions of primitivism. (SR)

Presents a critical review of the film "Mr. Holland's Opus" along with suggestions on how the film could have been better. Finds that the film is best in examining what it means to be a teacher and what it means to be a father. (PA)

Exposes the two basic myths underlying Carter's position on the discreteness of linguistic description, which are the myth of objectivity and the common-sense myth of language. It is concluded that stylistic analysis is an attempt to spread one's influence and to persuade readers of the validity of one's own response to literary texts. (14…

Argues that in recent children's literature nature has been given a voice, not a voice for people but its own voice calling out for the reader to join with it in a society to defend natural resources. (TB)

Argues for a revision of relativism in literary interpretation that supports, rather than undermines, efforts to explore the possibility of judgments of relative plausibility. Illustrates norms of interpretation and canons of evidence with examples drawn from interpretations of Shakespearean plays. Allays fears that any form of relativism…

Defines virtual experience as machine-based experience, of which virtual reality is a subconcept. Topics include a history of virtual experience; criticism of the influence of machine-mediated experiences such as computer games; virtual reality environments; and Heidegger's views on technology. (LRW)

Highlights five unsupported but popular notions about homework and offers five reality-based perspectives on the subject. It explains that homework is not the panacea to schools' problems, that it does not foster discipline and personal responsibility, and that parents do not always want their children to receive homework, particularly in the…

Examines assumptions of "oppositional" literary criticism, namely the assumption that older-style "objective" literary criticism must, in its political silence, be supportive of dominant ideologies. (TB)

Discusses the control of pornography on the Internet. Highlights include the Communications Decency Act (CDA); "Time" magazine's article on cyberporn and critiques of it; the unconstitutionality of the CDA under First Amendment protection of free speech; and non-legislative software solutions, including PICS (Platform for Internet…

States that feminist argumentation is characterized by its commitment to analyze critically patriarchal reasoning and (re)visioning argument theory to include considerations of gender. Analyzes how/why a patriarchal line of argument privileging the male norm is produced and (re)produced in the fetal protection controversy. Uses the "Johnson…

Explores a period in American rock 'n' roll known as the Brill Building era. Argues that this marked the massive entry of women into rock 'n' roll, providing anglo Americans with their first taste of a female youth culture focused on sexuality and their first exposure to the voices and vernacular of young, African American women. (PA)