Investigates the way that young children make aesthetic judgments about art works made by peers. Indicates that there are three phases in response formation: an initial response, a judgment based on more formal criteria, and an emotional response. Notes that children often needed prompting questions to reach the latter phases. (DSK)

Notes that the hopeful threads binding Herman Melville's book "The Confidence-Man" also weave a valuable lesson for literature PhDs considering their career options. Suggests that the values crucial to a teacher or scholar are also crucial to those who work outside the university: willingness to entertain other points of view and an…

Two studies had children role-play successful and unsuccessful tasks to test the hypothesis that both criticism and praise that conveyed person or trait judgments could send a message of contingent worth and undermine subsequent coping. Found that 5- to 6-year olds displayed significantly more "helpless" responses after person criticism or praise…

Documents use of informant-made video (IMV) recordings as a data collecting method for research into adults' art viewing experiences. Compares 10 informants' videotaped accounts of their responses to works of art with audiotaped responses. Reveals that IMVs provided additional information, such as visual documentation of artwork. Concludes with a…

Expands the literature of discontent with academic scholarship by showing how malaise is grounded metaphorically in the uncritical celebration of "up" and the vilification of "down." Historicizes these metaphors through classical Greek poetry and philosophy to rediscover how flowing back and forth between Apollonian upness and…

Compares representations of Aboriginal identity across a range of text types from Biography and Family History to Mythology. Argues that, although many of the depictions of Aboriginal people can be contested, they are still valuable for the insights they offer. (NH)

Data concerning perceptions of the Scholarly Writing Project, designed to develop doctoral students' academic writing skills, were gathered from 45 doctoral students through focus groups, observations, and written and oral reflections. Students valued critiques from professors and peers, especially personalized face-to-face feedback and the…

Suggests students can learn a great deal from experiences with literature that has powerful imagery. Discusses imagery in a wide variety of adolescent literature. Suggests choosing works of adolescent literature to use with students by asking: (1) if they offer wisdom; (2) if they are artfully written; (3) if they are successful aesthetically; and…

Describes the cognitive processes used by well-educated, motivated adults as they make critical judgments about information under naturalistic and conducive conditions. Discusses theories about the nature of evaluation from critical thinking literature and from cognitive psychology; the role of evaluation among other cognitive processes; and the…

Traces development of the campaign history genre by exploring two key exemplars: T. White's "The Making of the President 1960" and R.B. Cramer's "What It Takes: The Way to the White House." Reveals that the books make sense of the election, develop a reciprocal relationship between private man and public figure, and create an authoritarian reading…

Notes the perception among students that cultural critique is a privileged, elitist mode of inquiry. Argues that a dialogic, Bakhtinian approach to response could help address this problem. Discusses how two Bakhtinian concepts ("anacrisis" and the "superaddresse") might be applied to writing classrooms. (RS)

Describes how one teacher adapted the Toulmin argumentation model to improve discussion in introductory literature classes. Describes the method and its application to literary texts. Shows how it enables students with no particular attraction to literature to invent and respond to arguments about a text, ground those arguments in the text, and…

Provides a brief reaction to Albert Ellis's "Postmodern Ethics for Active-Directive Counseling and Psychotherapy," which appears in this issue. Offers a condensed review of what has led up to Ellis's article. Pays special attention to the phrase "and/also" in relation to its implication for theory building and practice. (RJM)

Clarifies the "efferent" and "aesthetic" stance on Louise Rosenblatt's theoretical continuum by relating her model to the plot, characters, and scenes in Lois Lowry's "The Giver." Shows that Rosenblatt's view applies to the ways readers read texts and to the way characters in the texts read their text-worlds. Presents…

Describes developments in feminist analyses of the role of education in creating "inclusive" democratic citizenship. Outlines four feminist perspectives that offer opportunities to reflect critically on the past and continuing struggle of women for equality, and suggests the complex issues that face programs for citizenship education in the next…